--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Very simply, we subsidize high-fructose…" description: "\"Very simply, we subsidize high-fructose corn syrup in this country, but not carrots. While the surgeon general is raising alarms over the epidemic of o..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17c/michael-pollan-408_alarms_very-simply-we-subsidize-high-fructose-c_2158358.jpg" --- # Very simply, we subsidize high-fructose corn syrup in this… ![“Very simply, we subsidize high-fructose corn syrup in this country, but not carrots. While the surgeon general is raising alarms over the epidemic of obesity, the president is signing farm bills designed to keep the river of cheap corn flowing, guaranteeing that the cheapest calories in the…” quote by Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17c/michael-pollan-408_alarms_very-simply-we-subsidize-high-fructose-c_2158358.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17c/michael-pollan-408_alarms_very-simply-we-subsidize-high-fructose-c_2158358.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17c/michael-pollan-408_alarms_very-simply-we-subsidize-high-fructose-c_2158358.jpg) > “Very simply, we subsidize high-fructose corn syrup in this country, but not carrots. While the surgeon general is raising alarms over the epidemic of obesity, the president is signing farm bills designed to keep the river of cheap corn flowing, guaranteeing that the cheapest calories in the supermarket will continue to be the unhealthiest.” [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Policy subsidies shape dietary habits, often favoring cheap, unhealthy calories over nutritious foods. **In simple terms:** Subsidies shape diets. Key Takeaway Advocate for healthier subsidies. Themes policy nutrition economics Mood critical informed Type analytical policy When to use this quote - government budgeting - consumer choices Key Concepts public health agricultural policy Questions to Reflect On - What reforms could balance nutrition and economics? - How do subsidies affect personal health? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Corn syrup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/corn-syrup/) [Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country/) [Epidemics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/epidemics/) [Food](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/food/) [Health](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/health/) [Healthy diet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/healthy-diet/) [Healthy eating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/healthy-eating/) [Obesity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obesity/) [President](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/president/) [Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rivers/) [Surgeons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surgeons/) ## Related quotes > [“I'm pretty sure the devil is made out of high fructose corn syrup.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-m-baker/i-m-pretty-sure-the-devil-is-made-out-of-high-fructose-corn-syrup/) Jonathan M. Baker > [“The path of least resistance is paved with high-fructose corn syrup and palm oil.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hosam-zidan/the-path-of-least-resistance-is-paved-with-high-fructose-corn-syrup/) Hosam Zidan > [Not only are we consuming spoonfuls of high-fructose corn syrup every day, but many of the foods and snacks we consume have dyes linked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-paulina-luna/not-only-are-we-consuming-spoonfuls-of-high-fructose-corn-syrup-every/) [Anna Paulina Luna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-paulina-luna/) > [To wash down your chicken nuggets with virtually any soft drink in the supermarket is to have some corn with your corn. Since the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/to-wash-down-your-chicken-nuggets-with-virtually-any-soft-drink-in/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) > [“To wash down your chicken nuggets with virtually any soft drink in the supermarket is to have some corn with your corn. Since the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/to-wash-down-your-chicken-nuggets-with-virtually-any-soft-drink-in-2/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) > [I dont know too many parents that want to feed their kids soda, but high-fructose corn syrup is cheap. The price of soda in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-colicchio/i-dont-know-too-many-parents-that-want-to-feed-their-kids-soda-but/) [Tom Colicchio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-colicchio/) > [“thing—the United States is in a health care crisis, the economy is shaky, and the government subsidizes the production of corn, making high-fructose corn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robb-wolf/thing-the-united-states-is-in-a-health-care-crisis-the-economy-is/) [Robb Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robb-wolf/) > [I eat nothing that's processed or refined - no high-fructose corn syrup, no sugar, no trans-fats. I eat a lot of fish and monounsaturated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-karnazes/i-eat-nothing-that-s-processed-or-refined-no-high-fructose-corn-syrup/) [Dean Karnazes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-karnazes/) > [“Sugar: It is common and accurate to say that refined sugar and sweeteners like high-fructose corn syrup lead to weight gain and are detrimental…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yogi-cameron-alborzian/sugar-it-is-common-and-accurate-to-say-that-refined-sugar-and/) [Yogi Cameron Alborzian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yogi-cameron-alborzian/) > [Avoid food products containing ingredients that are A) unfamiliar B) unpronounceable C) more than five in number or that include D) high-fructose corn syrup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/avoid-food-products-containing-ingredients-that-are-a-unfamiliar-b/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) > [Cooking for yourself is the only sure way to take back control of your diet from the food scientists and food processors, and to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/cooking-for-yourself-is-the-only-sure-way-to-take-back-control-of/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) > [“Yet as a general rule it's a whole lot easier to slap a health claim on a box of sugary cereal than on a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/yet-as-a-general-rule-it-s-a-whole-lot-easier-to-slap-a-health-claim/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) > [“True. This gluten-is-the-enemy thing is total bullshit. And don’t get me started on kombucha tea, kale, anything with antioxidants in it, and the fallacy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-ward/true-this-gluten-is-the-enemy-thing-is-total-bullshit-and-don-t-get/) [J.R. Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-ward/) > [“For instance, choose full-fat, unflavored, unsweetened yogurt over sugar-containing, high-fructose corn syrup–sweetened yogurt.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-davis/for-instance-choose-full-fat-unflavored-unsweetened-yogurt-over-sugar/) [William Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-davis/) > [“Ray seemed to subsist primarily on a diet of high-fructose junk food and old videogames. It was hard not to love the guy. Back”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-cline/ray-seemed-to-subsist-primarily-on-a-diet-of-high-fructose-junk-food/) [Ernest Cline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-cline/) ## More by Michael Pollan > [“In the same way that the picturesque designers were always careful to include some reminder of our mortality in their gardens -- a ruin,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/in-the-same-way-that-the-picturesque-designers-were-always-careful-to/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) > [My hope is that if people have the knowledge, and if they actually see where their food comes from and have access to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/my-hope-is-that-if-people-have-the-knowledge-and-if-they-actually-see/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) > [The problem is that we let special-occasion food become everyday food. That goes for soda and french fries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/the-problem-is-that-we-let-special-occasion-food-become-everyday-food/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) > [Every peasant cuisine has incredible ingenious tricks for getting a lot of nutrition out of a small amount of ingredients. There are people who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/every-peasant-cuisine-has-incredible-ingenious-tricks-for-getting-a/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) > [“In ancient Greece, the word for “cook,” “butcher,” and “priest” was the same—mageiros—and the word shares an etymological root with “magic.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/in-ancient-greece-the-word-for-cook-butcher-and-priest-was-the-same/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) > [In the end I'm still a writer. I'm still a journalist, and my first responsibility is to my readers. That's where I have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/in-the-end-i-m-still-a-writer-i-m-still-a-journalist-and-my-first/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) > [Seeds have the power to preserve species, to enhance cultural as well as genetic diversity, to counter economic monopoly and to check the advance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/seeds-have-the-power-to-preserve-species-to-enhance-cultural-as-well/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) > [“The bubble logic driving tulipomania has since acquired a name: “the greater fool theory.” Although by any conventional measure it is folly to pay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/the-bubble-logic-driving-tulipomania-has-since-acquired-a-name-the/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) > [“Of the seven deadly sins, surely it is pride that most afflicts the gardener.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/of-the-seven-deadly-sins-surely-it-is-pride-that-most-afflicts-the/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) > [Growing corn, which from a biological perspective had always been a process of capturing sunlight to turn into food, has in no small measure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/growing-corn-which-from-a-biological-perspective-had-always-been-a/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) > [Eat with consciousness. When you eat with consciousness, and you know what you're eating, and you eat it in full appreciation of what it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/eat-with-consciousness-when-you-eat-with-consciousness-and-you-know/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) > [This is part of human nature, the desire to change consciousness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/this-is-part-of-human-nature-the-desire-to-change-consciousness/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) > [“...whenever I hear people say clean food is expensive, I tell them it's actually the cheapest food you can buy. That always gets their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/whenever-i-hear-people-say-clean-food-is-expensive-i-tell-them-it-s/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) > [“Imagine if we had a food system that actually produced wholesome food. Imagine if it produced that food in a way that restored the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/imagine-if-we-had-a-food-system-that-actually-produced-wholesome-food/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) > [“CONSULT YOUR GUT.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/consult-your-gut/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) [Explore all 584 Michael Pollan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) ## More Alarms quotes > [Were the life of man prolonged, he would become such a proficient in villainy, that it would become necessary again to drown or to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/were-the-life-of-man-prolonged-he-would-become-such-a-proficient-in/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [There's a statement from several members of the Senate, both Democrats and Republicans, including the Democratic leader, Charles Schumer; John McCain, the chair of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-stephanopoulos/there-s-a-statement-from-several-members-of-the-senate-both-democrats/) [George Stephanopoulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-stephanopoulos/) > [Here in the UK the audience immediately reacts and they get the fact that: "What would be the most annoying thing in the world?"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duncan-jones/here-in-the-uk-the-audience-immediately-reacts-and-they-get-the-fact/) [Duncan Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duncan-jones/) > [It is a hard matter for a man to lie all over, nature having provided king's evidence in almost every member. The hand will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-allston/it-is-a-hard-matter-for-a-man-to-lie-all-over-nature-having-provided/) [Washington Allston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-allston/) > [Who then is free? the wise man who is lord over himself; Whom neither poverty nor death, nor chains alarm; strong to withstand his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/who-then-is-free-the-wise-man-who-is-lord-over-himself-whom-neither/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Modern man threw a brick through his own window in order to sell himself a burglar alarm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-carr/modern-man-threw-a-brick-through-his-own-window-in-order-to-sell/) [Allen Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-carr/) > [I understand the power and the alarm of words - Not those that they applaud from theatre-boxes, but those which make coffins break from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-mayakovsky/i-understand-the-power-and-the-alarm-of-words-not-those-that-they/) [Vladimir Mayakovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-mayakovsky/) > [I don't know who Azazel is," he said. "Isn't he the cat from The Smurfs?" He cast about , but Isabelle just looked up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/i-don-t-know-who-azazel-is-he-said-isn-t-he-the-cat-from-the-smurfs/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [The beloved may be treacherous, greasy-headed and given to evil habits, or else it can be a man in his late forties who works…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-link/the-beloved-may-be-treacherous-greasy-headed-and-given-to-evil-habits/) [Kelly Link](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-link/) > [Those who have past much of their lives in this great city, look upon its opulence and its multitudes, its extent and variety, with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/those-who-have-past-much-of-their-lives-in-this-great-city-look-upon/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Unfortunately, I'm one of those idiots who knows everything about health and is in a constant state of alarm, and yet I continue to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-ames/unfortunately-i-m-one-of-those-idiots-who-knows-everything-about/) [Jonathan Ames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-ames/) > [“batteries in the smoke alarms, and since he “just happened”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-lawson-timmer/batteries-in-the-smoke-alarms-and-since-he-just-happened/) [Julie Lawson Timmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-lawson-timmer/) > [When I see a new face, something sets off an alarm bell inside me. 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