Rough Draft Artist Statement

We are preparing an artist statement which will focus primarily on the effects of high fructose corn syrup and pesticides. What we currently have is a list of facts and questions which we will later arrange into a fully developed artist statement.

Pesticides
- How many birds do you think die a year because of pesticides?
67 Million
- FACT: Pesticides killed 25% of our bees in the winter of 2006/2007. That's tens of billions of bees
-What might pesticides put unborn fetuses at risk for?
Growth and development issues, 70% increase for risk of Parkinson's disease
- FACT: In China, 500,000 people a year suffer from pesticide poisoning, and approximately 500 of them die
- FACT: The production of pesticides can kill. In one incident, where 40 tons of pesticides were accidentally released, 15,000 people were killed, and 100,000 people are still left with mild to severe effects.
http://www.globalhealingcenter.com/effects-of-pesticides.html
- How many pounds of pesticides do you think are used annually worldwide?
5 billion.
- FACT: 90% of pesticides never reach the plant. They go to the soil, air, water, or us.
- The production use of pesticides has increased drastically. From 1954 to 2001, India went from spraying 154 million tons of pesticides to how many?
88 Billion
http://theviewspaper.net/five-billion-pounds-of-pesticides/

High Fructose Corn Syrup
- History- started in 1957. Corn has glucose, not fructose. Researches created an enzyme called glucose isomerase (enzyme to alter a group of enzymes). This enzyme rearranged the composition of glucose in corn syrup and made it into fructose. With adding this, it turned a mildly sweet corn syrup into the sweet high fructose corn syrup. The production initially began as a industrial scale in 1970s.
http://www.ehow.com/about_5106547_history-high-fructose-corn-syrup.html

-Fact-HFCS is now in ketchup, canned vegetables and jams. In 2005, Americans consumed a per-person average of 28.4 kg (54.56 lbs) of HFCS each year. This is also what they understand is causing the obesity problem in the US.
http://www.ehow.com/about_5106547_history-high-fructose-corn-syrup.html

-Why? HFCS started because corn growers were beginneing to see competition in the area of margarine and shortening. With the increase in demand for corn to make HFCS the loss in production for margarine and shortening was canceled.
http://www.ehow.com/about_5106547_history-high-fructose-corn-syrup.html

- Fact-Stove Top Stuffing, Capri-Sun Juice Drink, Kellogg's, Eggo®, Lifesavers, Nabisco, Nutri-Grain, Robitussin, Vicks, Cool Whip, Claussen Pickles, Ben & Jerry's, Dreyer's, Kraft Salad Dressing, Miracle Whip Salad Dressing, A1, Bull's Eye, Holy Smoke, Jim Beam, Tuttorosso, Kraft Philadelphia Cream Cheese, Oscar Mayer Lunchables,Campbells Vegatable soup all have HFCS
http://www.thegoodhuman.com/2007/09/10/high-fructose-corn-syrup-vs-pure-sugar-is-one-worse-than-the-other/