I agree...the whole thing scares me. It reminds me of splenda's marketing angle: tastes like sugar because it's made from sugar. No, splenda is a chemical substance...no matter what it originally came from.

Corn syrup is no more like corn than splenda is to sugar.

To follow up on the last few comments about high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), I would like to offer my knowledge as a Registered Dietitian. First, let's be clear, HFCS is NOT natural. It is wrong for the Corn Refiners Association, the Corn Growers of America, and others who are deceiving the public to state HFCS can claim the label “natural.” I am alarmed that these associations are placing the label “natural” on HFCS and creating advertisements that make it seem as though those who try to avoid products with HFCS are the ones who are mistaken.

Here is a quote from Geraldine June, supervisor of the Product Evaluation and Labeling team at FDA's Office of Nutrition, Labeling and Dietary Supplements, "The use of synthetic fixing agents in the enzyme preparation, which is then used to produce HFCS, would not be consistent with our … policy regarding the use of the term 'natural.' Consequently, we would object to the use of the term 'natural' on a product containing HFCS." I read this as clearly stating HFCS is not natural.

Reference: http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/cfr_2004/aprqtr/pdf/21cfr173.357.pdf

People often assume since HFCS is similar to sugar in calorie content therefore it is not as harmful. But here is something to consider, HFCS is NOT sugar, as a result our bodies do not recognize it as sugar and leads us to believe the sweetness we crave has not been satisfied. This often leads to consequences like overeating products containing HFCS. One commenter mentioned Coke made with sugar tasted much better than the Coke made with HFCS. That is because his body recognized the Coke contained sugar, a taste we learn as infants from breast milk, and trigged hormones to digest the product as sugar. HFCS does not have the same digestive effect. Please see this article from Medscape: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/491630_5

It is true that most foods can fit into a healthy diet, consumed in moderation, and in proper portion sizes. I am not advocating for anyone to throw out all products made with HFCS. You would lose 90% of your groceries, since HFCS is an ingredient in more processed foods than you may want to know about. I am an advocate for informed consumers and believe that the public should be able to easily recognize products for what they are, like sugar as natural and HFCS as a processed food with chemical alterations and no “natural” label from the FDA.

The point to take home is that these commercials and ad campaign are leading the public astray. It is hard enough to keep up with all of the items on a nutrition label. We should at least have the confidence that what we are consuming is natural. In the case of HFCS, it is not.
Melanie Ann Fagen

Aren't we supposed to "exploit" corn?

Anyway, I think its a clever and effective ad campaign.

And let us not be so quick to demonize those evil manufacturers of HFCS: if the sugar industry wasn't granted so many political favors in the form of tariffs, sugar would be much cheaper in this country and HFCS wouldn't even be an issue.

These ads make me so furious I haven't been able to write about them myself. Petroleum is "natural" too, why don't we just drink that? And, as others have pointed out, it is virtually impossible to eat it in moderation if you eat any commercially-prepared products. It's in bread, cereal, V-8, etc.; avoiding junk food doesn't get you away from it.