By Nigel Spence
CJ Contributor

Happy New Year to all.  The beginning of a new year always summons up ideas about health and wealth, reflection on the past and setting ambitious resolutions for the year ahead.

Like many people, I have done such a bad job with sticking to my resolutions that my resolution this year is to stop making resolutions; and rather simply set some strong goals to achieve in the year ahead.  Of course, that takes the   pressure off and might seem like a cop out but I do think that part of not sticking to resolutions is a result of the sheer pressure of holding yourself hostage to very sudden changes.

So, as my scale announces an additional 10 pounds I inherited from the overindulgence in rum cake, rum punch and rum shots over the holidays (and admittedly many other occasions over the past year) I decided my simple goal for 2014 is to eat healthier – which should ultimately lead to  the departure of some of these unwelcomed pounds.

More specifically, I plan to minimize my consumption of corn based products, especially those which have been genetically modified (GMO), which reportedly accounts for more than 90 percent of the corn produced in the United States.

Why target corn products you may ask. The thing is, before reading an in-depth study on the subject recently, I never really gave serious thought to my personal level of corn consumption or just how much of the stuff we consume as a nation in the United States.

I was always aware of the genetically modified corn controversy from all the media attention it receives, but never felt the need to look much closer because I didn’t think it was a major player in my diet.

Then I found out about Carbon 13 and that became the game-changer for me.

Carbon 13 is an isotope of Carbon.  Without getting into the heavy (and super boring) science behind Carbon 13, suffice it to say that the level of Carbon 13 measured in the human body is directly related to the level of corn and corn based products one consumes.

“Too much of anything is bad, but too much rum is just enough.”

 

Studies have revealed that Americans have the highest concentration of Carbon 13, even more so than the so-called “corn walkers” — Mexicans — whose diet relies more heavily on a large variety of corn and other grains than any other country.

So how is it that the United States, one of the biggest meat eating countries in the world ends up consuming the most corn on earth?

Well, it turns out that it’s all in the way animals are fed and how the food is processed. Most other countries still feed their livestock grass and use sugar based sweeteners for food processing. In the United States, most of the livestock, farm raised seafood and processed food use corn as the base or as a major ingredient.

Think of grain fed livestock and corn based feed for farm raised fish and shrimp. Consider also corn starch, corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, and many others that may not be immediately apparent such as the addition of citric acid, and caramel color (all corn based) added to most processed food items found on the supermarket shelves.

What’s the big deal with all this, you may ask?

Without defending the merits of the many studies concerning the good vs. the bad of genetically-modified corn-based foods, I am simply going to say that I am firmly aligned with the old adage (my own) that says “too much of anything is bad, but too much rum is just enough.”

With that in mind, I became a bit unsettled with the fact that after assessing my food consumption for a day, almost every item had corn as an ingredient.

My eggs for breakfast were probably from a corn fed chicken, the bacon was from a corn fed pig, the milk in my coffee was from a corn fed cow and the bread had high fructose corn syrup listed as the third ingredient.

My healthy chicken breast salad for lunch was not much better. Corn fed chicken, high fructose corn syrup in the croutons AND also in the balsamic dressing, while corn fed cows made the milk for the cheese shavings sprinkled on top.

This is in no way a moderate consumption of corn.

Rather, I am a living, breathing Carbon 13 sample.

Based on my breakfast and lunch model, it is going to be quite a challenge to reduce my intake to even a moderate level considering all the hidden sources of corn.

So, whether you are on the side that believes that corn and other GMO products are safe and is the answer to efficiently  feeding an ever expanding population, or you are of the persuasion that corn and GMO’s are evil and is the genesis of obesity and many modern day illnesses, one thing is for sure, whether you like it or not, if you are living the average American lifestyle, you are  consuming WAY MORE than a moderate amount of corn. It is in practically everything you eat. The difference between medicine and poison is all in the dose, and based on that premise, we are over medicated with corn compared to the rest of the world.

As a transplant from Jamaica to New York, I was protected from the bombardment of genetically modified corn based products at least the first half of my life while still living on the island, so I have a head start on the reduction of my internal Carbon 13 footprint.

What I have learned since the new year began while reading food labels more carefully and identifying the source of meat proteins, is that consuming a more plant based diet and organic meat proteins is the only way to seriously cut the amount of genetically modified corn one consumes.

It looks as if meeting the goals I set for 2014 is gonna end up being more difficult than last year’s resolutions!

Take a step back and look at your food choices and decide for yourself if you too are a Carbon 13 poster child!

Walk Good!

Nigel Spence, a Culinary Institute of America alumnus, was born in Kingston, Jamaica. Nigel freelanced at the Television Food Network for three years where he worked with culinary luminaries such as Mario Batali, Bobby Flay and Emeril Lagasse. Chef Spence has appeared twice on Throwdown with Bobby Flay where he emerged the victor in cookoffs against the Food Network star and was featured on CBS when he appeared on Tony’s Table as well as ABC’s Neighborhood Eats, NBC’s The Today Show, Sirius’ Everyday Living with Martha Stewart and TVFN’s Chopped. The acclaimed and New York Times-reviewed Ripe Kitchen and Bar is Mr Spence’s first entrepreneurial endeavour.