this post was submitted on 06 Mar 2026
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Science Memes

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[–] FrowingFostek@lemmy.world 90 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

I don't think it was the Mexican farmers that gave us diabeetus. I'd blame it on the sugar cartels in the US.

[–] xtools@programming.dev 14 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

that's a bingo! rest of the world doesn't use corn syrup

[–] Paragone@lemmy.world 14 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

High-fructose maize isn't an Indegenous invention: that's a White invention.

_ /\ _

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[–] Stupidmanager@lemmy.world 9 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

You can blame the sugar cartels all you want, The truth is if you’re an American, you finance this shit through your taxes. Corporations suck, but what sucks more is that people don’t realize they help pay for their own slow demise in the name of profit.

[–] FrowingFostek@lemmy.world 4 points 3 weeks ago

Oh for sure, the broader argument to me would be about sugar subsidies. I don't support subsidizing the sugar/corn/meat industries. If I had a magic wand I'd much rather those taxes subsidize more nutrient dense foods.

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[–] xtools@programming.dev 67 points 3 weeks ago (4 children)

thx for the diabeetus

you know you don't have to turn it into corn syrup right? that crap isn't used widely anywhere but in the US

[–] coaxil@lemmy.zip 20 points 3 weeks ago

The crazy thing is, every time I have tried a yank drink with corn syrup that my country has the equivalent to without corn syrup, the yank one tastes like ass without fail, and leaves your mouth feeling weird.

[–] Taldan@lemmy.world 18 points 3 weeks ago

Corn syrup is better than our other main use for it: Ethanol

Problem is that we have such extreme subsidies that vast swaths of farmers are now entirely reliant on corn subsidies. We make far more corn than we have any use for because of it

No politician wants to be the one to take away the insane corn subsidies because a whole lot of farmers will be upset, and the American public is generally unaware of how wasteful the subsidies are

[–] YiddishMcSquidish@lemmy.today 12 points 3 weeks ago

Seriously, grilled on the cob dipped in butter is the most bestest way to consume this sweet grass!

[–] flora_explora@beehaw.org 6 points 3 weeks ago

Especially because most of the corn eaten in the rest of the Americas isn't sweet at all. It's more equivalent of rice, pasta, potatoes, etc...

[–] thisbenzingring@lemmy.today 37 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

and turkey, they domesticated the turkey we eat...

[–] mmmm@sopuli.xyz 50 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

and china, they domesticated chinese food

[–] thisbenzingring@lemmy.today 22 points 3 weeks ago (5 children)

Chinese food as we know, everywhere except China, is a purely American invention. It's history is really interesting, especially how the restaurant owners of the 80s convinced everyone MSG was poison.

[–] Duranie@leminal.space 14 points 3 weeks ago

It even started in the late 60's early 70's, originally referred to at "Chinese restaurant syndrome." Rooted in anti Asian racism, supposedly we were slowly being poisoned... by tasty tasty Asian food with added msg.

[–] Dadifer@lemmy.world 11 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

So... it's not poison? Propaganda is a bitch

[–] Quetzalcutlass@lemmy.world 27 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (4 children)

It's psychosomatic. MSG is also in tomatoes, mushrooms, and tons of savory salted snacks such as Doritos. None of those tend to trigger the symptoms people claim to have after eating Chinese food.

[–] Supervisor194@lemmy.world 8 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

"Ranch" flavor comes basically 100% from salt and MSG. There is a microscopic amount of herbs that make next to no difference. Ask anyone who thinks MSG is bad for you if they have cut out Ranch dressing for some hilarity. (May not apply to non-Americans).

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[–] Grail@multiverse.soulism.net 5 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

What do people claim about MSG?

[–] SARGE@startrek.website 18 points 3 weeks ago (5 children)

Personal anecdote from cooking for years for a variety of people of varying intelligence, background, and countries:

Most people claim it gives them headaches and nausea.

They "know" this because they feel it every time they eat (american) "Chinese food"

Not a single one has ever had either symptom after eating my cooking that has a little sprinkled in.

Now, I have tried to prove a point to some by informing them (many hours after the food, and asking about how they feel) that they in fact ingested MSG without issue and had no symptoms, usually to rounds of spontaneous nausea and headaches that had apparently gone unnoticed for hours until just then.

It could be that ingesting a shit-load of greasy, oily, carbs and over-eating that caused their nausea and headaches when they gorged themselves on "Chinese" food, but no, they know it's the MSG.

[–] Chakravanti@monero.town 7 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

So, in short, they're heavily allergic to their own thought processing.

[–] LurkingLuddite@piefed.social 4 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (3 children)

Some people do seem to confuse cognitive dissonance with being sick, and not that their fucking pathetic understanding of the world has just been challenged.

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[–] xx3rawr@sh.itjust.works 3 points 3 weeks ago

Another personal anecdote from a non-American: My parents never buy MSG. When I did, they freaked out a little then I have to explain it's not bad other than another source of sodium we need to watch. I need to point out that all of our staple liquid seasonings are filled with added MSG: soy sauce, vinegar, patis.

Despite being Asian, this happened because my shitass country often rely on shitass recommendations from the US health department. Another example is the ban on magic sugar, which is also propaganda by US sugar manufacurers.

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[–] psx_crab@lemmy.zip 7 points 3 weeks ago

Chinese food* as we** know

*only applicable to western chinese food

**the American

[–] Buddahriffic@lemmy.world 3 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

That's no longer accurate, as there are plenty of authentic Chinese restaurants in areas with Chinese communities that aren't just trying to get western locals to visit. The dim sum place I've been to didn't even have much English on their menu and it really helped to have some colleagues present who knew Chinese (both the language and the food).

Easily one of the best meals I've ever had, and I'm not usually a fan of the western chinese style.

[–] thisbenzingring@lemmy.today 5 points 3 weeks ago

dim sum is called dim sum though, you wouldn't expect to get dim sum except at brunch/lunch time and if someone says they are going to get Chinese food it'd be a surprise to get dim sum. Even traditional Chinese restaurants that cater to Chinese people serve Americanized Chinese food. In the Seattle Chinatown there's restaurants that have Chinese only menus that don't have any of the same stuff as the English menu. I've been to them with Chinese speakers and it's a totally different experience then going there with just my wife.

my original point is that "Chinese food" to most of the western world is the stuff that American Chinese immigrants invented. Real Chinese food isn't called Chinese food because China is massive and they have so many food cultures that those cultures are what that style of food is called

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[–] Jankatarch@lemmy.world 5 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

In Turkey corn is called "Egypt" and India is called "land of" either "Turkeys" or "Hinduists" depending on how you chose to interpret it.

I select the first one.

[–] FundMECFS@piefed.zip 26 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (3 children)

Mexico didn’t exist back then. Europeans hadn’t conquered and genocided and created states in the Americas.

This was native (indigenous) americans.

[–] hide@lemmy.blahaj.zone 7 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (2 children)
[–] amino@lemmy.blahaj.zone 9 points 3 weeks ago

indigeneity and nationality are two different concepts that have nothing to do with each other.

this can range from indigenous Oaxacans who are US citizens to Mexican citizens who are settlers who murder indigenous people in Mexico to steal their land.

[–] FundMECFS@piefed.zip 3 points 3 weeks ago

Mexico is a settler colonial state created by Spanish genociders.

The Mexican ruling class is still largely of european descent. It’s well established that lighter skin correlates with status in Mexico.

[–] captain_aggravated@sh.itjust.works 4 points 3 weeks ago (3 children)

What did the natives call the region in their language?

[–] pineapplelover@lemmy.dbzer0.com 10 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (3 children)

Well before Mexico, it was the Aztecs and they called their land Aztlán, Mexico is probably some bastardized name from Nahuatl

[–] HorreC@lemmy.world 10 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (6 children)

there was never a Aztec people that was the name someone made up. The Mexica people are the ones you are talking about. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aztecs

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[–] wieson@feddit.org 8 points 3 weeks ago

I don't know where exactly maize was cultivated, but Mexico comes from city Mexico-Tenochtitlan.

They found millenia old traces of maize in the valley of the Rio Balsa in Xihuatoxtla and also in the valley of Tehuacán.

Something about Coxcatlán phase. Couldn't find a name of a people who would have been responsible for the domestication.

It's easiest to say it happened in Mesoamerica.

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[–] amino@lemmy.blahaj.zone 18 points 3 weeks ago

thx for the diabeetus

fun fact, that is a eugenicist health scare campaign started by settlers to demonize indigenous peoples whose traditional diets are rich in corn.

famine and genocide are known causes of chronic illness. surviving colonialism is inherently disabling and heightened diabetes rates are a side-effect of that. it makes no scientific sense to me to completely ignore the social determinants of health and blame the diets of entire ethnic groups for their chronic illness rates.

[–] MisterNeon@lemmy.world 10 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (1 children)
[–] tangonov@lemmy.ca 3 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

Looks a bit like Jonathan Davis

[–] TrollTrollrolllol@lemmy.world 9 points 3 weeks ago

They werent mexicans they were mayans, spanish came over and banged em' turned em into mexicans.

[–] Sharkticon@lemmy.zip 7 points 3 weeks ago (3 children)

I tell you, there is nothing more Lemmy than people taking jokes/memes super seriously in the comments.

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[–] lolola@lemmy.blahaj.zone 6 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Ask your local chatbot today about the teosinte emoji

@smorty you've been a chatbot before, can you answer this question? what's teosinte?

[–] Sam_Bass@lemmy.world 6 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Ain't nobody made you fat from that but you. If you were living like the natives were back then, you might be keeping fitter with it

[–] NihilsineNefas@slrpnk.net 4 points 3 weeks ago

And if 90% of it wasn't GMO'd to hell so that the fructose yield was unnaturally high

[–] pigup@lemmy.world 3 points 3 weeks ago

you re-welcome

[–] AnimalsDream@slrpnk.net 3 points 3 weeks ago

While some foods are associated with a higher risk of type 2 diabetes, no single ingredients in and of themselves cause diabetes - obesity does. That's why every fad diet can make a semi-credible claim to have "cured" people's diabetes. If you lose enough weight, it might go into remission.

And to be clear, none of what I just said is meant to imply a moral, individual failure on the part of anyone who is living/struggling with obesity and diabetes. It's a complex thing, and like all complex things we can go ahead and blame corporations for it. 👍

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