Current ag policy encourages over-production of corn (high fructose corn syrup) and soybeans (vegetable oil), and these crops also yield abundant cheap livestock feed (animal fat). Most people don’t understand - or refuse to acknowledge - that their burgers and sodas are taxpayer subsidized.
Dittos. I was going to post something similar. There are corn products in almost every processed food item.
Also, the economy has not gotten so bad that people have stopped eating out. Guaranteed if you're eating out, you're going to eat twice as much as you do at home as you're served huge portions.
Any day of the week, check out your local chain restaurants. They'll be packed with people waiting. I never saw a decline in restaurant business, even in the depths of the recession - at least in my area.