Misleading consumers...

Can you imagine how upsetting it would be to be a medical doctor quoted by Audrae Erickson, president of the Corn Refiners Association, if what you said was taken out of context and twisted into a statement supporting the HFCS cause?  Statements taken out of context, twisted to suit the purpose of the quoter, are by no means uncommon.  The context for a given statement is an important detail often ignored by a whole range of folks: sloppy students, seedy journalists, desperate lobbyists, blood-sucking lawyers, political candidates whose platforms are weak, etc.

The interesting thing about catching someone engaging in this practice (taking quotes out of context to suit their purpose) is that it discredits them and may make you question their integrity (if they had any); what credibility does someone have when they have been caught willfully engaging in this practice?  Do you need to check ALL of their footnotes?  Does this make their arguments seem even weaker, more baseless, downright desperate?

Why, yes.  Yes, it does.

The below example comes from foodconsumer.org

Audrae Erickson on 29/01/2010 13:09:31 

High fructose corn syrup is simply a kind of corn sugar. It has the same number of calories as sugar and is handled the same by the body.

Consumers are being misled into thinking that there are nutritional differences between high fructose corn syrup and sugar, when in fact they are nutritionally the same. Whether from cane, beets, or corn, a sugar is a sugar. They all contain four calories per gram. Switching out a kind of corn sugar for table sugar is not for health and it is not for science.

Robert H. Lustig, M.D., Professor of Clinical Pediatrics at the University of California, San Francisco said, “The difference between high-fructose corn syrup and sucrose, molecule for molecule or ounce for ounce, isn't worth discussing.” (Tucker J, Allday E. January 20, 2010. “Schools switch sugars in chocolate milk.” San Francisco Chronicle. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/01/19/MNON1BKAK0.DTL#ixzz0dsjUjKj5)
According to the American Dietetic Association, “high fructose corn syrup…is nutritionally equivalent to sucrose. Once absorbed into the blood stream, the two sweeteners are indistinguishable.”

The American Medical Association stated that, “Because the composition of high fructose corn syrup and sucrose are so similar, particularly on absorption by the body, it appears unlikely that high fructose corn syrup contributes more to obesity or other conditions than sucrose.”

As many dietitians agree, all sugars should be consumed in moderation as part of a balanced lifestyle.

Consumers can read the latest research and learn more about high fructose corn syrup at www.SweetSurprise.com.

Audrae Erickson
President
Corn Refiners Association

Robert Lustig, M.D. on 06/02/2010 16:35:34

Ms. Erickson is being disingenuous in her posting related to my comments, by leaving off the second sentence. Please go to the SFGATE website to see for yourself. The actual quote is "The difference between high-fructose corn syrup and sucrose, molecule for molecule or ounce for ounce, isn't worth discussing. They are both equally dangerous," Lustig said.

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