I know that several Mudcatters are allergic to corn products (I'm not) and that they know a lot more about the increase in corn additives to the US food supply. I've seen popular-press references to the econonmic policies that have spurred this "corn boom" and depressed other sweeteners' use in products that used to depend on other sugars-- but no depth, just veiled references. But I can't seem to get it all straight in my head, or put together the timeline and role-players.... all I know is that our landlord, a hard-scrabble dairy farmer, has quit milking due to bad milk prices but seems to be growing a lot of field corn instead-- so I assume that subsidies are part of the picture.

Is this a trade deficit iusse-- was the US dependent on foreign sugars?

Who's winning, who's losing, and who built this system? I want farmers to get a fair shake, and to keep farming-- I'm not opposed to subsidies per se. But even I have noticed that corn is in everything nowadays, where it didn't used-to-was.

Fill me in. What's with this corn thing?

Thanks,

~Susan