Debating corn syrup

About the furor over psychology professor and eminent neuroscientist Bart Hoebel’s comparison of the effects of high-fructose corn syrup versus sugar and water on weight gain in rats (Notebook, April 28): I seriously doubt the objections to Professor Hoebel’s science reflected a genuine outpouring of public concern over his adherence to the scientific method.

The manufacture of corn syrup is a lucrative multibillion-dollar industry dominated by a small handful of large industrial concerns, including Archer Daniels Midland and Cargill, and is represented by its own powerful lobbying and public-relations arm, the Corn Refiners Association in Washington, D.C.

In 2008, the average American consumed 37.8 pounds of this industrial “food” product. We deserve to know the science of the effect of this substance on the bodies of human beings who consume it. I hope that Professor Hoebel and Princeton University will not allow themselves to be bullied into silencing the results of future studies on this or any other topic affecting human health.