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Did you happen to miss how in the early 80's or so several popular products switched to using corn syrup as a sweetener?

That's because of our sugar tariffs keeping cheap foreign sugar out, not because Brazil burning sugar made it that much more expensive.
http://www.accidentalhedonist.com/index.php/2006/01/24/tariffs_and_subsidies_the_literal_cost_o

In less time than it took to read your post.

Corporate agriculture makes Microsoft's anti-competitive behavior look saintly by comparison to their own shenanigans.

Some of the subtler, but most important battles won by would be the conspicuous absence of recommended daily sugar intake being listed by the FDA.

http://www.accidentalhedonist.com/index.php/2006/01/24/tariffs_and_subsidies_the_literal_cost_o

http://thehill.com/business--lobby/lobby-league-25-agriculture-2004-12-08.html

Setting aside the health impacts, high fructose corn syrup is "cheaper" than sugar only because the government subsidizes corn growers and puts a tariff on sugar imports, to the point where sugar is 2x to 3x more expensive than it should be in the USA. It's public policy, not "some PhD somewhere", that drove every sugar-consuming business in America to look for more economical alternatives.

Here's what a former chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers (under the GWB administration, no less) has to say on the subject.

well, the comments on this article have been educational. (oddly enough) here is one that might intrest some folks: http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/contactus/faq/l abeling.html#4 (the question about kosher coke) here is more info http://www.accidentalhedonist.com/index.php/2006/0 4/16/passover_coke http://offthebroiler.wordpress.com/2007/03/13/kosh er-for-passover-coke-its-the-real-thing-baby/ shows a picture of a cap that indicates kosher. i'd known about this for a while, but its nice to know that you can get coke that is made with real sugar, and not magic corn syrup if you know what to look for. as for caffeine, i used to be on it like nobody's business. several 1 liter pepsi's a day, and that was the norm. i got the flu one week, and stopped the caffeine to keep from agrivating some of the symptoms, and have tryed to keep my caffeine intake to a minimum since. none after around 5pm, so i sleep better, and unless i'm driving somwhere, none in the mornings. i've found that if i start the day with caffeine, i crash and then drag around 2pm. so staying off it keeps me going all day. so i drink a lot of gatorade, no caffeine, but it realy helps keep you going when you work construction in the heat all day.

Well, not really. Check this article:

http://www.westonaprice.org/modernfood/highfructos e.html

The 'high-fructose' part is really important because it seems that fructose leads to a deficiciency in your ability to metabolize copper. That's bad.

And it's *everywhere*. Check out this:

http://www.accidentalhedonist.com/index.php/2005/0 6/09/foods_and_products_containing_high_fruct

and this:

http://www.accidentalhedonist.com/index.php/2005/1 2/20/high_fructose_corn_syrup_and_fast_foods

Well, not really. Check this article:

http://www.westonaprice.org/modernfood/highfructos e.html

The 'high-fructose' part is really important because it seems that fructose leads to a deficiciency in your ability to metabolize copper. That's bad.

And it's *everywhere*. Check out this:

http://www.accidentalhedonist.com/index.php/2005/0 6/09/foods_and_products_containing_high_fruct

and this:

http://www.accidentalhedonist.com/index.php/2005/1 2/20/high_fructose_corn_syrup_and_fast_foods