The Vent

[trailmix 77]

Honestly... HFCS isn't any worse for you than sugar. HFCS or sugar have relatively the same effect -- it sweetens, too much isn't good for you and if you have have too much of either, you can easily gain weight. Maybe some people dislike the taste (which is their prerogative), but the real problem isn't HFCS itself. The U.S. adds both HFCS and sugar to many products, when one of the two would suffice.

The whole HFCS is "evil" (or whatever) is patently false. It's as harmful as sugar, which means it should be taken in limited quantities. Excess of either can could be detrimental.

Are you saying we are ignorant deadpool!

Here is the thing, I don't think that there is evidence either way about HFCS - there are conflicting reports. Some scientists say - hey it's sugar, get over it, some say it is not processed in the body the same way sugar is.

Either way, you are right, everything - well most things - here in the U.S. are over sweetened. Now, let's just say that all things were equal when it comes to HFCS and regular cane sugar. If HFCS were not so overly subsidized and cheap, would manufacturers still use so much of it as a cheap way to flavour foods?

Maybe not. I hope the controversy about HFCS continues, maybe manufacturers will go back to using sugar and as the price is higher they will sweeten less.

[TayL 0]

I've read studies that said it was fine. I've read studies that said it was bad for the pancreas because it was an "unbalanced" sugar. The whole thing confuses me and worries me, so I decided to look at it another way:

The thing is, you find it mostly in processed foods and breads. Well. I can make my bread at home with minimal fuss for less than I can buy it for in the store (at least, I can in Canada) and it tastes better than storebought bread of any kind. (Yay breadmaker!) And I don't need the massive amounts of sodium and fat and sugar in most processed foods, seeing as how I know large amounts of sodium are bad for me and I'm not supposed to have a lot of fat or sugar due to a medical condition.

I don't see HFCS in flour or water or yeast or apples or raisins or any of the other ingredients I use in my cooking. I don't like the flavour of most processed foods, having been raised almost exclusively on home-cooked things. Seeing as how the only thing I ever use ANY kind of cornsyrup in in my cooking and baking is when I make cinnamon buns, why would I be overly concerned over HFCS?

Honestly, there are likely worse things in processed food than HFCS, so why not make your food from scratch? Rather than buying a frozen meal to put in your slow cooker (really, that was the limit in laziness for me!), cut up some meat and carrots and potatoes and turnip the night before and plug it in in the morning. It takes a few minutes longer, sure, but it'll taste a hundred times better and be far better for you. It can go quite quickly, too, if you have two cutting boards and two knives and both you and your partner chop stuff up. And if you've got an older child, three cutting boards and three knives. There are dozens of things you can have in the slow cooker all day (meats, vegetable dishes, curries) that the largest amount of work you'll have to do when you get home is throw some vegetables into the steamer and serve food. Sure, it might be a tiny bit more expensive than some of the pre-made meals, but it'll taste a hundred times better and you know the quality of all the ingredients. And have the 5 year old put together a salad--I know me and all my sibs LOVED tearing up lettuce for salad at that age cause we felt like we were actually helping.

Baking is actually fun to do as a family--when my fiancé was up, we made cookies on a lark. It took us about 15 minutes plus bake time and they were a thousand times better than anything we would have bought at the corner store.

So why worry about HFCS? Why not just worry about putting appropriate meals together? Steamed peas, from frozen peas? No HFCS. Prep time? 2 minutes plus maybe 7 minutes cook time. Carrot sticks? No HFCS. Prep time? 5 minutes. Bread in a bread machine? No HFCS. Prep time? 7 minutes if I'm doing a loaf I have to hand-form, plus around 4 hours of rising and bake time. Rice? Well, brown rice takes about 40 minutes to cook, during which I typically watch tv or play video games, with a timer to remind me to go stir.

I think that North American culture in general has just removed the joy of cooking right out of our lives and led us to believe that it's wayyyyyyy too hard to do and takes far too long. If you don't like cooking, I really recommend you go find a brand new recipe you've never eaten before and throw it together. You might be surprised by how exciting trying something new is, and it becomes a LOT more enjoyable if you do it alongside someone else (provided you are okay with sharing your kitchen!).

[DeadPoolX 9]

Honestly... HFCS isn't any worse for you than sugar. HFCS or sugar have relatively the same effect -- it sweetens, too much isn't good for you and if you have have too much of either, you can easily gain weight. Maybe some people dislike the taste (which is their prerogative), but the real problem isn't HFCS itself. The U.S. adds both HFCS and sugar to many products, when one of the two would suffice.

The whole HFCS is "evil" (or whatever) is patently false. It's as harmful as sugar, which means it should be taken in limited quantities. Excess of either can could be detrimental.

Are you saying we are ignorant deadpool!

Hmmm... I don't believe I said anyone here was ignorant.

I've read studies that said it was fine. I've read studies that said it was bad for the pancreas because it was an "unbalanced" sugar. The whole thing confuses me and worries me, so I decided to look at it another way:

The thing is, you find it mostly in processed foods and breads. Well. I can make my bread at home with minimal fuss for less than I can buy it for in the store (at least, I can in Canada) and it tastes better than storebought bread of any kind. (Yay breadmaker!) And I don't need the massive amounts of sodium and fat and sugar in most processed foods, seeing as how I know large amounts of sodium are bad for me and I'm not supposed to have a lot of fat or sugar due to a medical condition.

I don't see HFCS in flour or water or yeast or apples or raisins or any of the other ingredients I use in my cooking. I don't like the flavour of most processed foods, having been raised almost exclusively on home-cooked things. Seeing as how the only thing I ever use ANY kind of cornsyrup in in my cooking and baking is when I make cinnamon buns, why would I be overly concerned over HFCS?

Honestly, there are likely worse things in processed food than HFCS, so why not make your food from scratch? Rather than buying a frozen meal to put in your slow cooker (really, that was the limit in laziness for me!), cut up some meat and carrots and potatoes and turnip the night before and plug it in in the morning. It takes a few minutes longer, sure, but it'll taste a hundred times better and be far better for you. It can go quite quickly, too, if you have two cutting boards and two knives and both you and your partner chop stuff up. And if you've got an older child, three cutting boards and three knives. There are dozens of things you can have in the slow cooker all day (meats, vegetable dishes, curries) that the largest amount of work you'll have to do when you get home is throw some vegetables into the steamer and serve food. Sure, it might be a tiny bit more expensive than some of the pre-made meals, but it'll taste a hundred times better and you know the quality of all the ingredients. And have the 5 year old put together a salad--I know me and all my sibs LOVED tearing up lettuce for salad at that age cause we felt like we were actually helping.

Baking is actually fun to do as a family--when my fiancé was up, we made cookies on a lark. It took us about 15 minutes plus bake time and they were a thousand times better than anything we would have bought at the corner store.

So why worry about HFCS? Why not just worry about putting appropriate meals together? Steamed peas, from frozen peas? No HFCS. Prep time? 2 minutes plus maybe 7 minutes cook time. Carrot sticks? No HFCS. Prep time? 5 minutes. Bread in a bread machine? No HFCS. Prep time? 7 minutes if I'm doing a loaf I have to hand-form, plus around 4 hours of rising and bake time. Rice? Well, brown rice takes about 40 minutes to cook, during which I typically watch tv or play video games, with a timer to remind me to go stir.

I think that North American culture in general has just removed the joy of cooking right out of our lives and led us to believe that it's wayyyyyyy too hard to do and takes far too long. If you don't like cooking, I really recommend you go find a brand new recipe you've never eaten before and throw it together. You might be surprised by how exciting trying something new is, and it becomes a LOT more enjoyable if you do it alongside someone else (provided you are okay with sharing your kitchen!).

That's absolutely it! Great post!

[DeadPoolX 9]

Here's my vent for the day...

Why are so many individuals rude here? Maybe they're not overtly rude and inconsiderate, but it still boils down to the same thing: Not thinking of anyone else but themselves.

It doesn't matter where my wife and I go. We can be in a mall, grocery store, furniture store, our apartment building and so on. Here's what I've found the overwhelming majority of people do:

1. Don't watch where they're walking.

2. Remain completely oblivious to anyone around themselves and often stand in the way of others.

3. Walk right up to you or into you, automatically expecting YOU to move for THEM.

4. Watch you as you try to enter an elevator (where the doors are starting to close) while you have packages and don't bother to help at all.

5. Don't bother to open the door if someone is carrying packages. Instead they look at you as if they're wondering WHY you're having trouble.

6. Seem to have very little concept of "personal space."

All of those piss me off. I know some of you might feel I'm a bit rude, but at least I'll open the door for someone if they're carrying packages; hell, I'll hold the door open if someone is behind me or immediately entering.

Number Six occurred when I was in Future Shop (but it's happened at other places too) where my wife and I asked a salesperson where Mario Kart Wii was. He showed us and then continued to stand next to us. I waited a minute and then said, "Thank you." I assumed my tone had indicated I wanted him to go away.

He responded, "I want to know if you're going to purchase it."

I replied, "If we do, I'll alert you. Now please leave us."

He asked, "Why?'

I was getting annoyed at this point, so I said, "You work on commission, right?"

He nodded. I then said to him, "Good. You've just lost yourself a sale."

My wife and I walked out. We bought the game at EB Games.

[JillA 2]

I think "here" can refer to anywhere. You find rude and inconsiderate people all over, no matter the country. You also find nice and kind people all over too. Whether Canada, America or anywhere else you find lots of rude or nice people.

Edited February 23, 2009 by JillA

[Sprailenes 47]

Wow DPX I am so sorry you live in such a sh1tty area of such a big and amazing country. You'd figure you could find a place where people were nice. Personally, I haven't experienced the things you speak of and I've lived in many towns and cities in Canada and spent most of my life there too, granted I have met my share of arseholes here and there, but never a city or town full of them. You just seem to have plopped yourself right in the middle of crapville!

Hope you find a better place soon.

Edited February 23, 2009 by Sprailenes

[TayL 0]

Deadpool:

That last is really the fault of the commission system. If people would just pay their employees according to quarterly work reviews (based on various factors, not just sales), then there would still be the desire to do well and hit sales goals among employees, but people would be MUCH less rude about it.

[Sprailenes 47]

Thats funny because Future shop only gets paid 7% commission on their sales but a regular wage on top of that. They do get paid rather well. I have never dealt with pushy sales people at future shop.

I have dealt with pushy people at the Brick. One guy pretty much followed me out of the store once trying to sell me a washer, I just thought the bubble windows were cool... I was in no position to buy.

Damn Canadians.

Edited February 23, 2009 by Sprailenes

[trailmix 77]

Honestly, there are likely worse things in processed food than HFCS, so why not make your food from scratch?

Hi Tay,

I like to make most things from scratch - rarely buy processed foods.

The thing is, here in the U.S. HFCS is in everything - from the pop to the salad dressing - I personally don't want to make my own:

Pop

Salad dressing

Cereal

BBQ sauce

ketchup

tartar sauce

etc etc

So that's really what we are talking about here. In reality I wouldn't mind making all those things from scratch, however it gets a bit annoying having to make EVERYTHING from scratch - cooking is time intensive.

Anyway that's just my view on it.

Oh and deadpool I was kidding - referring back to my marketing comment.

Edited February 23, 2009 by trailmix

[DeadPoolX 9]

I think "here" can refer to anywhere. You find rude and inconsiderate people all over, no matter the country. You also find nice and kind people all over too. Whether Canada, America or anywhere else you find lots of rude or nice people.

This is very true.

I'm not suggesting that Canada is full of nothing but rude people. The area in which I am living seems to have more of them, however.

Wow DPX I am so sorry you live in such a sh1tty area of such a big and amazing country. You'd figure you could find a place where people were nice. Personally, I haven't experienced the things you speak of and I've lived in many towns and cities in Canada and spent most of my life there too, granted I have met my share of arseholes here and there, but never a city or town full of them. You just seem to have plopped yourself right in the middle of crapville!

Hope you find a better place soon.

The strange thing is that I'm living in a fairly good area. I think a lot of people are too preoccupied with themselves (and whatever they want) to realize there are those outside their immediate bubble. This is true in the U.S., as well. I think I'm just experiencing it here more, but maybe I've run into the wrong individuals.

Deadpool:

That last is really the fault of the commission system. If people would just pay their employees according to quarterly work reviews (based on various factors, not just sales), then there would still be the desire to do well and hit sales goals among employees, but people would be MUCH less rude about it.

I don't even understand the point behind commission sales. I know managers say it "encourages employees and promotes team work," but I'd say it's the opposite. If salespeople are hovering around customers like sharks circling a victim, that'll not only get customers annoyed, but other employees as well.

If these stores really wanted to encourage team work and sales (without those in sales stealing customers or pissing customers off), they should implement a "division-wide commission." In other words, if there's a group working in the camera section, then anytime someone made a sale from cameras, everyone in that section would receive a commission. That'd promote team work and keep employees from trampling over one another.

Thats funny because Future shop only gets paid 7% commission on their sales but a regular wage on top of that. They do get paid rather well. I have never dealt with pushy sales people at future shop.

I have dealt with pushy people at the Brick. One guy pretty much followed me out of the store once trying to sell me a washer, I just thought the bubble windows were cool... I was in no position to buy.

Damn Canadians.

I've had that experience at The Brick before, too. Some of the salespeople there are a little creepy. I saw a few wearing the type of suit a car salesman would've worn in the 1970s.

[Sprailenes 47]

My vent is now how my mother is planning to bring my uncle down. My uncle never has any money.

She is also expecting me to take a few days off of work and have my son take time off of school. I don't exactly agree with this and this visit wasn't planned like her June visit, she's just expecting me to drop my life because she is coming down. I was going to take a week off in June when she came down, but now she wants me to do it in a few weeks AS WELL.

Then she tells me my uncle is coming down. I like my uncle but the guy never has any money, and then I feel guilty because I want to take my mom somewhere and we have to bring him. So I told my mom yesterday that if she brought him down she'd have to have full financial responsibility of him. I wouldn't want to be put in any awkward situations because I don't appreciate it. The last time he came down for my wedding, there were sooo many awkward situations because the guy doesn't have a cent to his name. I don't even understand why my mother supports him the way she does. He has a 22 year old engaged son who lives with him, who works but pays NO rent at all or helps his parents at all, and then there's my mom buying the entire family groceries for the month. Ugh.

I have a two bedroom apartment I don't even know where he would sleep.

I wish she'd just not bring him down. This visit was unexpected and not planned and I don't feel like dealing with him for 5 days. He doesn't appreciate anything either.

Edited February 23, 2009 by Sprailenes

[TayL 0]

Honestly, there are likely worse things in processed food than HFCS, so why not make your food from scratch?

Hi Tay,

I like to make most things from scratch - rarely buy processed foods.

The thing is, here in the U.S. HFCS is in everything - from the pop to the salad dressing - I personally don't want to make my own:

Pop

Salad dressing

Cereal

BBQ sauce

ketchup

tartar sauce

etc etc

So that's really what we are talking about here. In reality I wouldn't mind making all those things from scratch, however it gets a bit annoying having to make EVERYTHING from scratch - cooking is time intensive.

Anyway that's just my view on it.

Oh and deadpool I was kidding - referring back to my marketing comment.

If the scientists are so divided on whether it's good or bad (and they are, very), then it seems to me that if there is a problem, it's not a massively strong link. So why should condiments and occasional treats (which all of those are) be a MASSIVE OMG PROBLEM?

On that list, you have pop which, by definition, is bad for you. It's a sugary drink. You have salad dressing, which, really, can be whipped together in a matter of moments before serving. And really, you're not meant to be drowning your salad in salad dressing. Cereal... Okay, I'll give you that one--though there are TONNES of unsweetened cereals that you can add sugar to yourself if you want them sweeter and regular old oatmeal, to the best of my knowledge, doesn't have HFCS in any country. You can also make your own granola that's very tasty with a minimum of time once a week.

I have to question what's going on that you're eating enough ketchup and barbecue sauce that they represent a massive problem. If scientists are so divided and studies have shown so many different results--many of them no difference--then a few tablespoons of ketchup or barbecue sauce aren't going to hurt you, even if HFCS IS in some way bad, because it's not the OMG BIG BAD that some people are making it out to be. If you're worried about it, try seasoning things differently so that you don't WANT ketchup or barbecue sauce. As for tartar sauce, well, I didn't even know you could buy it. I thought you HAD to make it. I don't like tartar sauce and my mother, who does, has never bought tartar sauce ever. She ALWAYS makes it.

Having read up on this issue a great deal since my first time encountering it here, there are MANY people in the US who manage to avoid HFCS quite happily. If you go looking for them, there are entire lists of foods that lack HFCS and dyes--look up ADHD diets, I think is where you find these lists the most often.

Or hit the farmer's markets. Every farmer's market I've ever been to has a lady (or man, or family) selling preserves. Which usually include salsas and marinades. And a lot of the preserve ladies are willing to make you up a batch of sealed ketchup or barbecue sauce, if they don't have it already, if you ask nicely and pay their usual fees for most of the batch, since it's a specialty item that they are fairly certain they have a buyer for. They're generally willing to do that for any preserve they can get a recipe and the ingredients for.

I've been researching this like mad and, when my fiancé goes to do his shopping, asking him to look out for prices on various items that come up on my lists. They're not that out-to-lunch in pricing and if you know what you're watching for, you have a MUCH better chance to find it in any decently sized store.

[Udella&Wiz 325]

Isn't this the VENT thread - not the argue about someone's VENT thread?

I tend to read and then leave this one some days. Everyone in here has the right to rant unfettered, no? I see a lot of people arguing when someone is just trying to get something of their chest and a point that's important to them.

OMG- that is my vent for today

PS: HFCS is in EVERYTHING down here - not just the items listed...try your breakfaat cereal, your average bread, my beloved english muffins for breakfast. It's in some lunch meats even - it's beyond your occasional condiment. Genetically engineered anything in my food, makes me irritated

We have a standard rule of thumb in our house, we simply do not buy ANYTHING with 'questionable ingredients' and gawd knows we spend a lot more grocery money either making stuff from scratch or going organic. but it's your choice, 100% - Canadians have other bad ####### in their food too

[minnew 4]

Isn't this the VENT thread - not the argue about someone's VENT thread?

I tend to read and then leave this one some days. Everyone in here has the right to rant unfettered, no? I see a lot of people arguing when someone is just trying to get something of their chest and a point that's important to them.

I was starting to wonder about that too! What the heck!!

[JillA 2]

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion about HFCS, but there is nothing wrong with being leery about it. I've heard lots of bad things about it too, and try and stay away. But not everyone has time to make EVERYTHING from scratch. It's easier said than done to say make your ketchup, BBQ, Tartar, bread, from scratch and to whip together salad dressing right before eating. Sure it's better for you but not everyone has the time nor means to do that. Yeah soda isn't great for you but if I feel like soda every now and again I'm not going to feel bad about drinking it, and would prefer soda without HFCS. We should be able to buy products without this additive in them, which is why we all bring lots of food home with us when we go visit Canada If one believes they are bad for you, they are entitled to that opinion just as others are entitled to believe there is nothing wrong with it. But no one's opinion is necessarily wrong either.

Edited February 23, 2009 by JillA