King Corn was a rather shocking documentary, which took a closer look into the corn industry. The two men, Ian and Curt, who made this documentary found it interesting that our generation is assumed to have a shorter life expectancy than our parent’s generation and wanted to find out why. They found it is because we are what we eat. After having their hair analyzed they found that both of their hairs were made of corn. They then decided to move out to Iowa, from Boston, and rent and acre of land to grow their own corn and follow it throughout the country.
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This was a rather eye opening film. It enlightened the viewer on how much the corn industry has changed in the past 50 years and how this has turned from a family practice into a corporation. It is shocking that farmers can no longer eat their own crops anymore. They have to be sent off to be processed. Most of the farmers would never even eat what they grew. Also, the corn has been altered to be able to grow closer together; it is about quantity versus quality. Furthermore, the men were surprised at how little work they had to do in order to grow the corn. Most of the work was waiting because of the tractors and technology we have developed through the years. It was about efficiency. When the men took their finished product to the corn elevator to sell they ended up loosing $9 in the long run, until the government paid them for their labor. It is interesting how the government has changed. Decades before they paid farmers not grow much corn, making it more valuable. When a new head came to the agricultural department, he said grow as much as you can, using whatever land you can. Now we have so much corn it has become almost worth nothing and we use it for almost everything.
When Ian and Curt's crops were ready to be harvested they found that they could not accurately track it because the corn would be mixed in with the rest of the farmer’s corn and shipped off in various places. They then decided to see where it could possibly go. There were many places it could go such as oil, food for livestock, food for humans, soda, and/or made into high fructose corn syrup. It is amazing the affect corn has on America and could be the cause for obesity and type II diabetes. The fact is that it is so cheap they are using it for everything they can. Most things in the grocery store have high fructose corn syrup, as does soda, and now the meat is infused with corn as most fast food restaurants. There is no escaping it. To think we would rather pay less than live longer is crazy to me. As a man who was interviewed in the film said... if America demanded grass fed cows, we would give it to them, but America wants cheap. It takes almost twice as long to grow cattle eating grass and grazing. But, instead they put them in close quarters, so they cannot move and will gain weight, and feed them ground up corn. It is proven that if these cows were not slaughtered to eat they would die in a few months anyways from the malnutrition from the corn. This food was not meant for their systems.
It is a sad cycle we have fallen into and maybe if more people were aware there would be change. But, as I tried to sit and have a conversation with my roommate about this film she stopped me quickly saying, “STOP… I don’t want to know. I love my hamburgers and I want to enjoy them.” But even if it is taking years off of are lives? Do we choose to live in ignorance? This film also shows our societies need for instant gratification. We cannot wait for corn and cows to grow naturally, we need them now. The more the better! But, we are compromising our lives. It is interesting that when my brother went to Canada and had McDonald’s he said it was so much better. This is because the government has stricter food regulations in Canada. What is America letting into our food and at what cost? I would highly recommend seeing this film, it will make you think twice about what you put into your mouth.
Ashley Burger
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