title: When a Spoonful of Fallacies Helps the Sweetener Go Down: The Corn Refiner Association's Use of Straw-Person Arguments in Health Debates Surrounding High-Fructose Corn Syrup.
abstract: The American public is increasingly concerned about risks associated with food additives like high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS). To promote its product as safe, the Corn Refiners Association (CRA) employed two forms of straw-person arguments. First, the CRA opportunistically misrepresented HFCS opposition as inept. Second, the CRA strategically chose to refute claims that were easier to defeat while remaining ambiguous about more complex points of contention. We argue that CRA's discursive contributions represented unreasonable yet sustainable use of straw-person arguments in debates surrounding health and risk.
authors.affiliation: a College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Department of Community Development and Applied Economics , University of Vermont.
authors.forename: Sarah N
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Heiss
authors.affiliation: b Scripps College of Communication, School of Communication Studies , Ohio University.
authors.forename: Benjamin R
authors.initials: BR
authors.lastname: Bates
mesh_terms: D008192:Deception; D066248:High Fructose Corn Syrup / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006801:Humans; D008119:Lobbying; D009765:Obesity / Q000139:chemically induced
chemical_list: D066248:High Fructose Corn Syrup