A guest walks through the Haunted Corn Maze at Rustic Valley Orchard in Chalfont, Pennsylvania, U.S., on Saturday, Oct. 13, 2018. Agritourism was supposed to be a profit bonanza for Tabora Farms, in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and other family-owned U.S. farms that have jumped on the rural land-use trend. Instead, some are running into homeowner gripes and legal bills while homebuilders, eager to turn fields into luxury subdivisions, circle with offers of quick-and-easy riches. Photographer: Michelle Gustafson/Bloomberg In Anheuser-Busch InBev’s ads, a medieval crew delivers a cask of unwanted corn syrup to Miller Lite and Coors Light. Bud Light is using the “brewed with no corn syrup” on its ads for the night.
Following the spots, the National Corn Growers Association tweeted at Bud Light that “America’s corn farmers are disappointed in you. Our office is right down the road! We would love to discuss with you the many benefits of corn! Thanks @MillerLight and @CoorsLite for supporting our industry.”
American consumption of high fructose corn syrup started to fall at the beginning of the millennium when it was linked to the country’s high rate of obesity. This was due in part to decreasing consumption of soda; soft drink makers have also moved away from corn syrup, replacing it with sugar.
Much of the reaction on social media to the Bud Light ads suggests most people didn’t know beer contained corn syrup at all. Perhaps the corn lobby wanted to keep it that way. DM