Researchers at the University of Hawaii have tested 160 fast-food products purchased from outlets throughout the United States and reportedly found that “not 1 item could be traced back to a noncorn source.” A. Hope Jahren & Rebecca A. Kraft, “Carbon and Nitrogen Stable Isotopes in Fast Food: Signatures of Corn and Confinement,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, November 18, 2008.
According to the researchers, “Ingredients matter for many reasons: U.S. corn agriculture has been criticized as environmentally unsustainable and conspicuously subsidized.”

Sampling the ratios of different isotopes of carbon and nitrogen in the meat and chicken samples tested, the researchers were able to determine what the animals were fed and the level of fertilizer used on the feed crops. They also found that higher levels of nitrogen isotope in the meat, from the ammonia emitted in their manure, could be linked to meat coming from animals raised in confined conditions.

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For decades, manufacturers, distributors and retailers at every link in the food chain have come to Shook, Hardy & Bacon to partner with a legal team that understands the issues they face in today's evolving food production industry. Shook attorneys work with some of the world's largest food, beverage and agribusiness companies to establish preventative measures, conduct internal audits, develop public relations strategies, and advance tort reform initiatives.

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