By: Connor Garstka, News Editor -

How would you like to drink soda made from corn? Or eat a bowl of ice cream in which one of the principal in­gredients is corn syrup? Even a burger and fries combo from a fast food res­taurant usually has a high concentra­tion of corn starch. If you’re living in the United States, the question isn’t, “Do you like corn?” It is, “How much can you stomach?”

People are consuming soda and other products made with corn syrup at an alarming rate, which is one of the main reasons why Americans suf­fer from such high rates of obesity and diabetes. This was shown in a 2005 study by Dr. Matthias Schulze, linking increased sugar consumption with weight gain and a greater inci­dence of Type 2 diabetes published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

This is one of several issues plagu­ing the food industry. As demonstrated in Robert Kenner’s recent film Food, Inc., cattle are kept in such close quar­ters that they spend their entire lives wading through their own manure. Chickens are imprisoned in enclosed coops with no light and no ventilation, and they eat growth hormones to the point that their legs can’t support their own body weight.

Mass-producing food may seem cheaper, but the long-term costs are often overlooked. Disease is a concern, due to resistant strains of bacteria. There have been several major recalls in the past five years. The FDA called for a spinach recall in September 2006 because of e. coli contamination and a peanut butter recall of February 2007 because of salmonella. There were 20 recalls of meat products in 2008 alone.

Though the food front may look foul, at Boston College, a small but dedicated group of students are work­ing together to reduce our reliance on processed food. Real Food BC, founded in the spring of 2008, grows a variety of fruits and vegetables in a large garden located on the Brighton Campus.

“[The goal of Real Food is] to make food more local-based and end the use of large mono-cropping of grains such as corn,” Josh Gild, A&S ’12, a Real Food member says.

The thriving garden has yielded a harvest of cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes and basil during this past year. “The plants that really thrive there are basil and tomatoes,” Gab­bert says. “We have so much basil in the garden because our goal is for the basil to eventually be used in Addie’s as a garnish for the tomato mozzarella pizza. We are currently undergoing a certification process to make this hap­pen and hope to be able to serve our basil in Addie’s by Fall 2010.”

Addie’s Loft is an organic dining alternative in Corcoran Commons that opened in Sept. 2008. With a staff composed partly of BC students, the Loft has been doing a roaring trade in flatbread pizzas.

“We’ve had quite a few new cus­tomers now because all the sopho­mores moved down from Upper and Newton Campus,” Gabbert says. “We started off this year to a very busy start and the flow has decreased slightly but it’s fairly steady.”

Soon, however, growth will begin to wind down in the garden. In early November, we will be putting the gar­den to bed, planting the garlic, and preparing for another great season next year,” Gabbert says.

But Real Food will be active in the winter. “Real Food will focus more on awareness events and as spring ap­proaches we will start planting our seedlings in the Higgins greenhouse to prepare for the coming season,” Gab­bert says.

Participating in Real Food isn’t the only way that BC students are eating green. Jacqueline Cerniglia, LSOE ’10, participates in a service called Bos­ton Organics. The company delivers locally grown organic food to custom­ers in the Greater Boston area. Their menu is not limited to produce but also includes cheese, chocolate, coffee, and eggs. The fruits and vegetables are distributed seasonally, so what you can order changes depending on the time of year.

Boston Organics will deliver di­rectly to campus, and Cerniglia offers a few tips.

“I order my small box biweekly, but since there are no preservatives, I have experienced that the food can rot before I have time to eat it,” Cerni­glia says. “Therefore, it is better to go through the food quicker. Also, the larger boxes are even cheaper to split and they help with sharing family din­ners and get you on a better eating schedule.”

Cerniglia has other recommenda­tions for those to wish to eat healthy. “I shop the outer perimeters of the gro­cery store. I eat a lot of vegetables and fruit, but keep a healthy diet of protein with chicken and fish.” While shop­ping, “I am very particular about read­ing labels and trying the best I can to understand where the product is from and how it was made.”

The US government has heavily subsidized corn for a long time, so it’s no surprise that we eat so much of it. Americans also consume far more meat than the rest of the world, which causes environmental problems as well.

“The production, shipment, and use of animal products is one of the largest consumers of fossil fuels within the world, and large portions of land are devastated by their production ev­ery year,” Gild says.

Real Food and Addie’s Loft are BC’s first steps toward addressing the corn-crazy culinary crisis.