Here are some important facts you should know about corn and sugar:

• Corn is the most farmed crop in the U.S. today
• The history of corn farming in America has been greatly influenced by government financial hand-outs to large farms or "agribusinesses" in the form of direct money assistance, tax credits and guaranties.
• The U.S. government spent $56.2 billion on corn subsidies from 1995 to 2006
• The U.S. also imposes a tariff on imported sugar, making it more expensive. This also increases the demand for high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), which is a cheap sugar substitute. This policy encourages more land to be used for corn production, and greater amounts of high fructose corn syrup to be produced.

What you can do:

1)      Urge President Obama and your elected officials to change the current corn subsidies so that the price of corn will increase and less high fructose corn syrup will be used.

2)      Eat less sugar, including HFCS. By eating less sugar and HFCS, you will lower the likelihood of becoming obese or overweight.  Also, you will avoid the health risks connected to obesity, such as heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

3)      Cut down on soft drinks and other sweetened beverages such as fruit punch and sweetened teas. By drinking just one less can (12 ounces) of sweetened beverages a day you could drop 15 pounds in a year. Drinking one less 20-ounce bottle of coke or other sweetened beverage a day you could drop 26 pounds in a year. That's because a 20-ounce bottle of sweetened beverages has about 250 calories, and that adds up to a whopping 91,000 calories over a year!

4)      Read labels and cut down on the products you buy that have HFCS and other sugars, especially if you see those ingredients listed as one of the first five ingredients.