Cornsumption

This week I've challenged you to go a week without eating anything containing corn or corn derivatives. On your blogs this week I'd like you to write about the experience. How easy or hard has this been for you? Did you come across anything particularly challenging or surprising? What did the overall experience teach you about the contemporary US food system?

After a week of trying to have a corn-free diet, I really have only one thing to post: It must really suck to be allergic to corn and living in the United States! Corn is without doubt king in this country and it almost feels like there is no escaping it!

My first step was to look at all of the three websites and figure out exactly what I could and could not eat, and man, those lists were daunting! I am a person who definitely enjoys her food and was worried that this week would be one where I would end up hungry for the most of it. No cereal, no caramel, no vegetable oil, no instant coffee or tea, no potato chips and not even salad dressing! It feels like if you want to avoid corn absolutely, the only true option you have is to eat plain, raw salads. Or it might just be that I am not creative enough to think of alternative options.

I feel like this would have been much easier had I been back home, than here on campus. Most of my meals are either consumed in TDR or the Tavern, and even if you try to be careful with what you put on your plate, there is no guarantee that it was not cooked in corn or vegetable oil. In TDR, the safest bet would be the salad bar, but I would still need to add some salad dressing to that! When I am back home, we usually cook Indian food, and we don't normally use corn for much. Most of the food is cooked in either sesame or olive oil and we normally don't use corn in most of our dishes. I am not a soda person either, so I usually stick to water or milk during my meals.

I think this challenge made me realise how hard it must be for people who are allergic to corn in any capacity, because their options are very slim. Again, I might just lack creativity in thinking of meal choices, but the ones I was presented here on campus were definitely not that great in number. I think that the US contemporary food system needs to take a step back from this crop and think of alternatives. I did not even mention the indirect consumption of corn we get from consuming meat in our diets! I praise those who were able to complete the challenge without consuming corn at all for this week! I know that I was not able to do it!