My question is how do you avoid a thing like High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) when it literally is in EVERYTHING! I'm 22 and just read The Kind Diet book and would like to start this new way of living.  But isn't it hard to live this way since the 'American Way' is so anti-vegan?

READ the labels on EVERYTHING!!!! And you might  have to change where you shop. My grocery store has a nutrition section but you are not going to find much that is good at , say, Wal-Mart. A health food store or a place like Whole Foods is the best place to shop. When you shop somewhere better you increase the likelihood of finding good food. But after a while you start to recognize some of the brands and can find them at other stores too. But really the answer is diligence in reading labels.

Everything I have read suggests shopping the perimeter of the grocery store. Usually, the middle of the store has all the manufactured foods that conatain bad-for-you ingredients. Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food further suggests: If you can't pronounce it or it sounds like something you would put in your car, don't eat it. If it has much more than 5 ingredients, don't eat it.

Essentially, if you aren't eating processed foods you won't be eating products containing HFCS and tons of other unhealthy junk.  Processed foods (whether "healthy" or not) are just plain not good for you.  Period.  Stick to whole grains, vegetables, fruits, and you'll be  a happier, healthier person all around.

Yes, read all labels on  everything. And try to mae things yourself as much as possible. Than you know exactly what your putting in the food!