As corn is increasingly being used in feedlots to fatten cows before slaughtering, it has emerged as a chief ingredient for fast food items all over including chicken and beef products.
The research led by Hope Jahren, geobiologist and professor at the University of Hawaii, looked at three prime fast food outlets namely McDonald’s, Burger King and Wendy’s located in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Detroit, Denver, Boston and Baltimore.
Jahren and study co-author Rebecca Kraft examined 480 fast food samples to establish the connection of corn with fast food and traced it down the food chain. The food samples collected over a period of two years were freeze-dried and then sent to laboratory for analysis.
"Out of the hundreds of meals that we bought, there were only 12 servings of anything that did not go straight back to a corn source," said Jahren. The analysis reports indicated that corn was used as a main mix for the feedlots fed to the poultry and cattle to fatten them up quickly.
This finding was made possible with a technique that classified the carbon and nitrogen isotopes in meat which helped the researchers to know more about the animals' diet pattern and living conditions. The research team found that the animals were raised confined in dreadful conditions and fed a high corn diet.
According to Jahren, corn's distinctive biochemistry makes it easy to trace its journey in the food chain - from plants to the animals and further in the form of cooked food. Use of corn was found dominant and homogenous in chicken and beef samples from various food outlets across the country by the research team.
According to fast food critics, corn is a highly subsidized commodity and it is very unsustainable due to the huge requirement of water, fertilizer and fuel. The very popular French fries are deep fried in corn oil almost everywhere. Jahren commented that it is the right of consumers to know that how their food is made.
Cynthia Sass, a nutritionist from New York, said: "In my opinion, we're experiencing a food awakening in this country. Many consumers want to know where their food comes from and how it's grown. Consumers are starting to think about the traceability of food and connect the dots in the big picture of food production, particularly in terms of how it impacts the environment, our health and the health of our children."
Statistics from the United States Department of Agriculture reveal that 48.7 billion pounds of commercial red meat, 8.1 billion chickens and 90.6 billion eggs were produced in 2007.
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