lobbying

Demand for sugar in the United States grew throughout the 20^th century. But it skyrocketed when the food industry began mass producing high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) in the 1970s. Though HFCS intake has fallen in the new millennium, researchers still struggle to understand how this hotly debated sweetener impacts our health.

In the 1987 movie “Suspect,” Dennis Quaid plays a lobbyist so desperate to get votes for a bill supporting milk producers in his home state that he sleeps with a congresswoman.

That was just a movie. But special interests in Washington D.C., still buy access and influence to broker deals behind closed doors. They leave journalists a few crumbs to follow, but we need to know where to look.