I’ve always known about things like cornstarch and corn syrup but I’ve never thought about what that really means or how prevalent they are. The corn industry is much bigger than I realized. I also didn’t know how bad corn was for cattle which makes me wonder about the ethics of things like feed lots and just feeding cattle what isn’t healthy for them. It also concerns me that livestock consume 70% of antibiotics. That’s not good for anyone’s health. It’s really a shame that corn has turned into something so unhealthy when it used to contain so much protein. Now it’s just used to make high fructose corn syrup that has empty calories and no nutritional value. I wish we could find some kind of substitute for corn syrup that wasn’t so unhealthy and wasn’t so dangerous to make. I wish corn could go back to the way it was, but I have no idea how to get it that way. We seem too far gone.
I didn't realize that corn is truly in everything until after I watched this documentary. The idea that we consume corn every time we eat something is almost shocking, there are things that I consume that I would never expect there to be corn in. And all this is mostly because of High Fructose Corn Syrup. I though it was interesting that the reason that corn syrup was first made was that they needed something to do with the surplus of corn that the farmers had grown. Then through watching the process of making corn syrup you learn all the chemicals that have to go into making it and how even though it is made from a vegetable, it's not good for you in any way.
I remember my mom telling me to try and avoid foods with high fructose corn syrup when I was younger, and I never really understood why. Watching King Corn solidified just how much of what we consume contains corn, and I found this to be astonishing. From high fructose corn syrup in sodas and chips, to corn fed beef, we consume it on a daily basis. I was taken aback to see how the beef industry is driven by corn, and how the ability to obtain the crop so cheaply allows mass numbers of cattle to be raised, fed, slaughtered and packaged for us to eat. Seeing how unhealthy a strict corn and antibiotic diet is for cows was jarring, and definitely discourages me from wanting to eat meat, specially beef.
The fact that most farmers actually lose money from growing corn was also extremely surprising. I didn't realize that the way many of these farmers actually make their money is through the government. These subsidies allow the continued production of huge quantities of corn, which in turn allows for an abundance of cheap crop to feed an ever-growing population - a population, as Ian explained in the Q&A after, which has come to expect low food prices. Ian also talked about the role of fossil fuels in growing corn, and how ammonia is used to allow the corn to grow in the same tired out and nutritionally stripped soil year after year. Without fossil fuels, about 40% of people would not be living today, as Ian put it. The power implied in this statement is astonishing. Overall, this movie really caused me to question the way our food industry and the economy are built off one another, and how the ability to cheaply produce mass amounts of crop perpetuates our economy forward, while unfortunately subjecting the human population to extensive health issues.
What I found most startling while watching King Corn was how the production of corn has changed over the years. Technologies have made it possible to produce a higher yield of corn within smaller confinements. The corn grown in King Corn was genetically produced in order to grow in close corners. An acre today can produce 200 of corn which is roughly 5 tons of food. However in order for this mass amount of food to even be edible it must be processed. From there the corn is fed to the animals we eat or made into sweeteners. Corn is in nearly EVERYTHING we eat, there is no possible way this is good for our health.
My favorite thing about King Corn is learning that farmers used to plant crops in moderate amounts, so that supply and demand were in balance. Then when they were mass producing corn there was way too much!
I was fascinated by the amount of corn that is grown that isn't meant for human consumption! When the guys tasted their acre of corn I was surprised when they said it tasted horrible. I never realized that there was corn grown for the purpose of being turned into corn syrup or fed to cows. I suppose I always assumed it was corn meant for consumption that was left over.
The most shocking thing I realized while watching King Corn was the amount of corn we are currently producing. From what it was, to what it is today, there has been incredible exponential grow. With current day technology, we can yield way more corn than we could in the past, with the same amount of land. Technology has allowed us to genetically mutate corn so that we can get more with each harvest…but is that a good thing? We had so much corn at one point that farmers actually had an extreme surplus, and thus, we have corn syrup, which can be found in about everything you eat now. This lead me to think about all of the sh*t I’m putting into my body when I eat, basically every meal. All of the chemicals I am in taking. Everything has corn in it somehow…so I ask again, is this a good thing? Is it healthy? I think no, but I feel like we may figure that answer out when it is too late.
After watching King Corn, it really opened my eyes to the possibilities that corn has as a product and how much we actually consume it. For such an easy crop to grow, there is no wonder farms are expanding to be able to grow as much as possible. What really surprised me, was the amount of corn that goes towards industries that aren't the food industry. Corn is a cost effective way to feed cattle, as well as change the taste once turned into meat. It was really amazing to hear how much agriculture has changed since the guys grandparent ran their own farm in the same town. They are able to get four times more corn from the same plot of land, which truly is a lot in regards to the amount of corn planted in Iowa. It also only took them 18 minutes to plant the 1 acre, which is most likely a much shorter amount of time than their grandparents because of the high tech machines and tractors we have today. It was also very interesting to learn that they can only spray corn with a certain herbicide called Liberty if the corn is genetically modified to resist the herbicide. It is amazing how much can be done with corn, but the extreme amount of work that must go into it to use it in all the different ways we do not even realize exist.
Before king corn I knew that corn was grown in massive quantities in the Midwest, what didn’t know was that a third of it would be used to produce ethanol, half fed to cows to be eaten indirectly by humans, and the rest turned into hi-fructose corn syrup to be eaten directly by humans. I was shocked to find that this corn diet was so bad for beef cows that cows now consume 70% of the United States antibiotics just so they live long enough to reach a slaughter house, or that the meat from corn fed cows is higher in saturated fat than grass fed cows. I knew that high fructose corn syrup was in a great many products, but I had no idea that making it required such an industrial process to produce, and that the process took multiple days and several chemicals that should never come into contact with human skin. The most frightening thing about the video was the fact that the government pays 28 dollar an acre to help perpetuate this corn based system, one that has made it so we are the first generation that won’t live as long as there parents due to health problems, many of which have been linked to high fructose corn syrup. I do wonder if there one acre of prairie is going to be able to survive after years of industrial farming.
I think it's fantastic the transformation the directors all underwent; Aaron becoming a grocer and moving away from video, and Ian and Curtis shying away from the farming scene moving on to work in video. The process through which subsidies were provided to farmers to promote continual outward spread of farmland came as a bit of a shock. I realized it's laughable how far out of proportion we've blown the margin of farmland. Growing up seeing bird's eye views of crops in neat little squares thinking it normal. King Korn provided me with a new perspective. It's not okay that we've stretched our boundaries as far as we have; nature is constantly trying to remind humans that spreading oneself too thin leaves one open. Natural disasters occur every day and we believe ourselves victims, but we're setting ourselves up to fall due to our complex city structure and inability to survive independently from society.
This film was thoroughly disturbing, upsetting, and infuriating; it left me with a bad taste in my mouth like I’d been cheated—cheated by some heartless gypsy vendor in some foreign bazaar I was not familiar with. I thought I was buying Gucci, but it turned out to be some shit faux couture watch. The idea that almost all the food I eat, which is not corn, contains corn, but wait, it’s not even corn, its corn extract i.e. high fructose corn syrup, and this extract is not even made with “real” corn, but rather a genetically engineered, commercial, subpar, and literally NOT EDIBLE (before processing) manmade creation, “super” corn. So as I’m watching this, I’m beginning to realize, I’ve been duped. Not only are the foods I’m eating not what they seem, but also that the uninvited and unannounced implementation of a substitute to true & whole foods, is not even the substitute it appears to be! The imposter is hiding under more than one mask. And, oh yes! If you were wondering, this “super” corn is not just used in substitution of food for human markets; it’s used for other things as well! Such as: livestock fodder. All unused parts of the corn plant (stalk, leaves, roots) and surplus kernels of this sub-grade, half-corn, is ground up in all sorts of different ways, to be fed to livestock on farms…or what used to be livestock farms. Currently they’re referred to as “major confinement feed lots.” These are massive, commercial farms, with many massive industrial “barns,” a.k.a. confinement feed lots, where far too many animals are confined to far too small and enclosure. Not only do commercial livestock farms inhumanely confine these animals in overcrowded super barns, but the individual stalls they’re encased by, they cannot even move in. Each and everyone of them is to be pumped full of approximately 60% corn-based fodder, in conjunction with a constant and heavy regiment of antibiotics (which culture medicine-resistant super viruses and bacteria in the livestock, and therefore through the consumption of those meats…by humans), left to wallow in their own excrement and disease, these animals are fattened, and thankfully quickly slaughtered before they could die from… corn feed consumption? So not only is this corn not edible, but even after being pretty well processed, it was still volatile enough, consumed frequently and in large amounts, to deliver a mere six month prognosis to an animal as large as a cow? And are we not all eating copious amounts of this “super” corn extract, all the time? And are we not all a fair bit smaller than a cow? What the hell is going on? Is this Inception? Why can this happen? Who’s the dumb asses regulating this bush league profit-driven food system? Well the US Federal Government, of course, what a silly question. So then the film went on to talk about how the US Department of Agriculture actually instituted the regulations (or lack thereof) and policies that have created the current socioeconomic, ecological predicament in the food industry. In the past, the amount of corn grown was regulated by the US Department of Agriculture, which met domestic food demands and ensured the lack of fluctuation and sustainability of the price of corn. This kept the lands from being over farmed, the farmers were always well paid (in subsidies from the government), it promoted small, family farming operations, produced quality organic products for the American consumer, and in a way checked population growth (both domestically & worldwide).
All was well, but then in 1973 there was a new head of the Department of Agriculture, Earl L. Butts redesigned the regulations and policies surrounding the farm program to encourage expansion, mass production, and in turn over production. This stressed the land, fluctuated the price of corn, with no restrictions, big business began buying up land and existing farms, to make more money, because the more you grow, the more you’re paid per kernel/lb. It also created a demand for a hardier, more easily harvested, higher yielding crop, which would eventually lead to GMOs and chemical pesticides. The American consumer is getting an unhealthy product, shortening the life spans of the people consuming these foods, and the surplus of food we send to developing countries is encouraging population growth by enabling more children to be born/survive when there was no sustainable place for them to assume in this world, both society and nature. We produce this surplus of food, which contributes/causes famine, war, and disease worldwide, for the illusion of financial profit? And whom are the ones actually profiting here? Not the average American farmer, not the poor and weak we string along with sporadic assistance, but the big corporate entities. This movie pissed me off, made me sick to my stomach, and really opened my eyes. After seeing this, I believe the solutions to many of the world’s problems lies in farming reform, how we approach land use, and how we might produce healthy, and natural foods. Not only will this improve the health of American consumers, it would relieve a lot of stress on the land, population would have to be controlled, or it might be controlled by the regulation of crop yields. And especially to hunt and gather- find and cultivate your own food sources, so you might know what you’re eating and where it came from. I can’t even formulate a conclusion after all that malarkey.
Holy corn! I was not expecting to come away from that documentary having the reaction I have; this was certainly an eye opener. It is distressing to see how far removed we are from the way things used to be. Hundreds of thousands of acres are dedicated to producing mass amounts of a crop that no longer bears nutritional value and lurks in so many CHEAPER food products. The name of the game for farming families is to go big or get the hell out. It's highly unfortunate for those who have been in the farming business for generations to be squeezed out by ever growing industrial agriculture. Takers are now able to produce more corn at a faster pace; technological advances have allowed for the hard work of farming to be done faster than in the past providing more relaxation time. This sounds similar to the Leavers having more family and relaxation due to their simpler and realistic lifestyle, but one major difference is we have become nearly incapable of living in harmony with nature while the Leavers did so effortlessly. It is common knowledge that cows are corn fed, but I never realized that the CORN they eat is killing them in the process of becoming my dinner. I know that the cow will eventually be killed and packaged for distribution so what does it matter that what they are being fed could kill them? Just another eye opener. Much of the agricultural “improvements” that have come along since Earl Butts' expansion plan is compromised nutrition and environmental disaster. It was interesting, frustrating, and sad to watch the film makers speak with Earl and the role that he played in commercial operation of corn. I don't believe the man desired to see corn production become what it is today, but rather that he was seeking to alleviate financial stresses for a hard working family. Unfortunately those motives have led to much of the advancements and destruction we face today.
I really enjoyed watching King Corn but just like when I watched Food inc, Super Size Me and any other documentary that shows me what I'm actually eating, I ended up feeling disgusted towards the end. I wrote down some of the things I learned from the King Corn video as I watched it. One of the most disturbing things I saw when I was watching it was when the two guys finally had their corn growing strong and they went to take a bite of their fresh grown corn it was not edible. I wrote down a quote from that part "The irony is an Iowa man can no longer feed himself". It's so messed up that people have changed a once edible crop into something that needs to be processed before it can be eaten. That's not the way food was intended to be grown and I have not interest in eating something that can no longer naturally be eaten.As King Corn went on, it got to a part where they started talking about the treatment of cows. I think it's awful that people treat another living creature the way we treat cows. They are not meant to eat corn but people force them to eat it anyway and then on top of that they don't let them roam free. The reason they don't allow cows to roam is because the cows don't gain weight fast if they are allowed to graze so farmers put them in total confinement and keep them always eating. While they were talking about the treatment of cows the question of why we feed cows corn instead of grass came up. The answer came to this; if the American people wanted grass fed meat farmers would produce it but people predominantly want cheap food. Corn fed animals are cheaper than grass fed animals. It brings up an interesting point because it's all about what the people want so we could change the system it's just a matter of making people aware. There were many things about King Corn that made me sad but what hit me the most was seeing how the farming industry is changing and how rapidly it is doing so. It's changed from once being a family run industry to now being a commercial run industry. It's really sad because families that have been farming for generations are no longer making enough money to support the business. Earl Butz is a huge reason the industry has changed so much and it was really interesting seeing his perspective of the industry and seeing the way he feels about the decisions he made as a senator. Overall King Corn taught me a lot about the food I eat and how it gets to my plate. It made me more aware of how I can help make a difference and as well as educational it was really interesting to watch and put a really personal refreshing spin on documentary.
It's easy to say watching King Corn was an experience. Going into the showing I expected it to be like every other documentary on food and how it is changing the world, but this documentary was different, it was actually interesting. What I found the most interesting and shocking is that people that grow corn in Iowa don't eat the food they grow, even though that was the whole point of farming to begin with. What was even more of an eye opener is the fact that corn is in almost everything we eat, from the meat that we eat to the sweetener in our cereal. What surprises me even more is that our bodies don't digest corn, so why do we keep on putting it into our bodies? At the very beginning of the documentary Ian says that our generation will not live as long as the past ones because of what we eat, which is TERRIFYING! Our lifespans are shortened merely because we can make cheap and abundant corn. What I also found fascinating was the fact that they couldn't get permission to film inside of the corn syrup factories. I believe that to be so because if it was known to the public what actually goes on in those factories people wouldn't buy the products. After watching this documentary and even taking this class, it raises the question for me, is ignorance really bliss? I know all of these facts and concepts that are ruining the planet and our bodies, but what do I do with all of this knowledge now, and would life be easier without knowing how dark the world seems to be. Now I don't look at food the same way because I know what's actually going on behind making this bowl of popcorn. Either way, King Corn really did bring into perspective how much the agriculture has changed since 1973 and how we are possibly in another Agricultural Revolution, if we can even call it a revolution.
WOW!!! I wasn't sure what to expect before watching this film. I have always heard about high fructose corn syrup being in everything but haven't really paid any attention but after watching this film I just can't believe it! Being a baker I use corn starch in certain things but I never have taken the time to really think about how much corn we use in daily food items. I am very glad that I had the time and opportunity to watch this film and really grasp the idea about how much corn we actually use and how some people treat their cows as well as watching how high fructose corn syrup is made with all of the chemicals that are put into it. Then thinking about how our bodies don't break down corn...but almost EVERYTHING has corn in it!!
I had no idea how important corn is and how often we encounter it in our daily lives. Even in our hair!, when I heard that I didn't even know it was possible to find that information out. This film had some really great visuals like the frame by frame tracking of where Ian and Curtis' corn were going. I also really liked the visuals where the fisher price toys were used to show the expansion of corn throughout the years. I also thought that the film had some nice subtle comedy mixed into it, I enjoyed watching the two play baseball in their feild and go ice fishing. Another thing I found nice about this film was how it was broken down by month. There was also some really incredible facts that were in this film, the most mind blowing to me is that they were able to plant their acre of corn with over 30,000 seeds in just 18 minutes. The machinery in this film was also very advanced, I had no idea some of these machines even existed on such a large scale. This film was very interesting and had a nice mix of education and comedy as well. Overall King Corn tells a story of something I never took the time to realize goes on everyday that I take for granted.
I’ve always known about things like cornstarch and corn syrup but I’ve never thought about what that really means or how prevalent they are. The corn industry is much bigger than I realized. I also didn’t know how bad corn was for cattle which makes me wonder about the ethics of things like feed lots and just feeding cattle what isn’t healthy for them. It also concerns me that livestock consume 70% of antibiotics. That’s not good for anyone’s health. It’s really a shame that corn has turned into something so unhealthy when it used to contain so much protein. Now it’s just used to make high fructose corn syrup that has empty calories and no nutritional value. I wish we could find some kind of substitute for corn syrup that wasn’t so unhealthy and wasn’t so dangerous to make. I wish corn could go back to the way it was, but I have no idea how to get it that way. We seem too far gone.
ReplyDeleteI didn't realize that corn is truly in everything until after I watched this documentary. The idea that we consume corn every time we eat something is almost shocking, there are things that I consume that I would never expect there to be corn in. And all this is mostly because of High Fructose Corn Syrup. I though it was interesting that the reason that corn syrup was first made was that they needed something to do with the surplus of corn that the farmers had grown. Then through watching the process of making corn syrup you learn all the chemicals that have to go into making it and how even though it is made from a vegetable, it's not good for you in any way.
ReplyDeleteI remember my mom telling me to try and avoid foods with high fructose corn syrup when I was younger, and I never really understood why. Watching King Corn solidified just how much of what we consume contains corn, and I found this to be astonishing. From high fructose corn syrup in sodas and chips, to corn fed beef, we consume it on a daily basis. I was taken aback to see how the beef industry is driven by corn, and how the ability to obtain the crop so cheaply allows mass numbers of cattle to be raised, fed, slaughtered and packaged for us to eat. Seeing how unhealthy a strict corn and antibiotic diet is for cows was jarring, and definitely discourages me from wanting to eat meat, specially beef.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that most farmers actually lose money from growing corn was also extremely surprising. I didn't realize that the way many of these farmers actually make their money is through the government. These subsidies allow the continued production of huge quantities of corn, which in turn allows for an abundance of cheap crop to feed an ever-growing population - a population, as Ian explained in the Q&A after, which has come to expect low food prices. Ian also talked about the role of fossil fuels in growing corn, and how ammonia is used to allow the corn to grow in the same tired out and nutritionally stripped soil year after year. Without fossil fuels, about 40% of people would not be living today, as Ian put it. The power implied in this statement is astonishing. Overall, this movie really caused me to question the way our food industry and the economy are built off one another, and how the ability to cheaply produce mass amounts of crop perpetuates our economy forward, while unfortunately subjecting the human population to extensive health issues.
What I found most startling while watching King Corn was how the production of corn has changed over the years. Technologies have made it possible to produce a higher yield of corn within smaller confinements. The corn grown in King Corn was genetically produced in order to grow in close corners. An acre today can produce 200 of corn which is roughly 5 tons of food. However in order for this mass amount of food to even be edible it must be processed.
ReplyDeleteFrom there the corn is fed to the animals we eat or made into sweeteners. Corn is in nearly EVERYTHING we eat, there is no possible way this is good for our health.
My favorite thing about King Corn is learning that farmers used to plant crops in moderate amounts, so that supply and demand were in balance. Then when they were mass producing corn there was way too much!
ReplyDeleteI was fascinated by the amount of corn that is grown that isn't meant for human consumption! When the guys tasted their acre of corn I was surprised when they said it tasted horrible. I never realized that there was corn grown for the purpose of being turned into corn syrup or fed to cows. I suppose I always assumed it was corn meant for consumption that was left over.
The most shocking thing I realized while watching King Corn was the amount of corn we are currently producing. From what it was, to what it is today, there has been incredible exponential grow. With current day technology, we can yield way more corn than we could in the past, with the same amount of land. Technology has allowed us to genetically mutate corn so that we can get more with each harvest…but is that a good thing? We had so much corn at one point that farmers actually had an extreme surplus, and thus, we have corn syrup, which can be found in about everything you eat now. This lead me to think about all of the sh*t I’m putting into my body when I eat, basically every meal. All of the chemicals I am in taking. Everything has corn in it somehow…so I ask again, is this a good thing? Is it healthy? I think no, but I feel like we may figure that answer out when it is too late.
ReplyDeleteAfter watching King Corn, it really opened my eyes to the possibilities that corn has as a product and how much we actually consume it. For such an easy crop to grow, there is no wonder farms are expanding to be able to grow as much as possible. What really surprised me, was the amount of corn that goes towards industries that aren't the food industry. Corn is a cost effective way to feed cattle, as well as change the taste once turned into meat. It was really amazing to hear how much agriculture has changed since the guys grandparent ran their own farm in the same town. They are able to get four times more corn from the same plot of land, which truly is a lot in regards to the amount of corn planted in Iowa. It also only took them 18 minutes to plant the 1 acre, which is most likely a much shorter amount of time than their grandparents because of the high tech machines and tractors we have today. It was also very interesting to learn that they can only spray corn with a certain herbicide called Liberty if the corn is genetically modified to resist the herbicide. It is amazing how much can be done with corn, but the extreme amount of work that must go into it to use it in all the different ways we do not even realize exist.
ReplyDeleteBefore king corn I knew that corn was grown in massive quantities in the Midwest, what didn’t know was that a third of it would be used to produce ethanol, half fed to cows to be eaten indirectly by humans, and the rest turned into hi-fructose corn syrup to be eaten directly by humans. I was shocked to find that this corn diet was so bad for beef cows that cows now consume 70% of the United States antibiotics just so they live long enough to reach a slaughter house, or that the meat from corn fed cows is higher in saturated fat than grass fed cows. I knew that high fructose corn syrup was in a great many products, but I had no idea that making it required such an industrial process to produce, and that the process took multiple days and several chemicals that should never come into contact with human skin. The most frightening thing about the video was the fact that the government pays 28 dollar an acre to help perpetuate this corn based system, one that has made it so we are the first generation that won’t live as long as there parents due to health problems, many of which have been linked to high fructose corn syrup. I do wonder if there one acre of prairie is going to be able to survive after years of industrial farming.
ReplyDelete~Mitch
ReplyDeleteI think it's fantastic the transformation the directors all underwent; Aaron becoming a grocer and moving away from video, and Ian and Curtis shying away from the farming scene moving on to work in video. The process through which subsidies were provided to farmers to promote continual outward spread of farmland came as a bit of a shock. I realized it's laughable how far out of proportion we've blown the margin of farmland. Growing up seeing bird's eye views of crops in neat little squares thinking it normal. King Korn provided me with a new perspective. It's not okay that we've stretched our boundaries as far as we have; nature is constantly trying to remind humans that spreading oneself too thin leaves one open. Natural disasters occur every day and we believe ourselves victims, but we're setting ourselves up to fall due to our complex city structure and inability to survive independently from society.
Excellent KING CORN reflections, colleagues - thanks for sharing them.
ReplyDeleteI liked the "ancient Earl Butz" interview best, myself. :)
Let's unpack in class!
Dr. Rob
This film was thoroughly disturbing, upsetting, and infuriating; it left me with a bad taste in my mouth like I’d been cheated—cheated by some heartless gypsy vendor in some foreign bazaar I was not familiar with. I thought I was buying Gucci, but it turned out to be some shit faux couture watch. The idea that almost all the food I eat, which is not corn, contains corn, but wait, it’s not even corn, its corn extract i.e. high fructose corn syrup, and this extract is not even made with “real” corn, but rather a genetically engineered, commercial, subpar, and literally NOT EDIBLE (before processing) manmade creation, “super” corn. So as I’m watching this, I’m beginning to realize, I’ve been duped. Not only are the foods I’m eating not what they seem, but also that the uninvited and unannounced implementation of a substitute to true & whole foods, is not even the substitute it appears to be! The imposter is hiding under more than one mask.
ReplyDeleteAnd, oh yes! If you were wondering, this “super” corn is not just used in substitution of food for human markets; it’s used for other things as well! Such as: livestock fodder. All unused parts of the corn plant (stalk, leaves, roots) and surplus kernels of this sub-grade, half-corn, is ground up in all sorts of different ways, to be fed to livestock on farms…or what used to be livestock farms. Currently they’re referred to as “major confinement feed lots.” These are massive, commercial farms, with many massive industrial “barns,” a.k.a. confinement feed lots, where far too many animals are confined to far too small and enclosure.
Not only do commercial livestock farms inhumanely confine these animals in overcrowded super barns, but the individual stalls they’re encased by, they cannot even move in. Each and everyone of them is to be pumped full of approximately 60% corn-based fodder, in conjunction with a constant and heavy regiment of antibiotics (which culture medicine-resistant super viruses and bacteria in the livestock, and therefore through the consumption of those meats…by humans), left to wallow in their own excrement and disease, these animals are fattened, and thankfully quickly slaughtered before they could die from… corn feed consumption? So not only is this corn not edible, but even after being pretty well processed, it was still volatile enough, consumed frequently and in large amounts, to deliver a mere six month prognosis to an animal as large as a cow? And are we not all eating copious amounts of this “super” corn extract, all the time? And are we not all a fair bit smaller than a cow? What the hell is going on? Is this Inception? Why can this happen? Who’s the dumb asses regulating this bush league profit-driven food system?
Well the US Federal Government, of course, what a silly question. So then the film went on to talk about how the US Department of Agriculture actually instituted the regulations (or lack thereof) and policies that have created the current socioeconomic, ecological predicament in the food industry. In the past, the amount of corn grown was regulated by the US Department of Agriculture, which met domestic food demands and ensured the lack of fluctuation and sustainability of the price of corn. This kept the lands from being over farmed, the farmers were always well paid (in subsidies from the government), it promoted small, family farming operations, produced quality organic products for the American consumer, and in a way checked population growth (both domestically & worldwide).
All was well, but then in 1973 there was a new head of the Department of Agriculture, Earl L. Butts redesigned the regulations and policies surrounding the farm program to encourage expansion, mass production, and in turn over production. This stressed the land, fluctuated the price of corn, with no restrictions, big business began buying up land and existing farms, to make more money, because the more you grow, the more you’re paid per kernel/lb. It also created a demand for a hardier, more easily harvested, higher yielding crop, which would eventually lead to GMOs and chemical pesticides. The American consumer is getting an unhealthy product, shortening the life spans of the people consuming these foods, and the surplus of food we send to developing countries is encouraging population growth by enabling more children to be born/survive when there was no sustainable place for them to assume in this world, both society and nature. We produce this surplus of food, which contributes/causes famine, war, and disease worldwide, for the illusion of financial profit? And whom are the ones actually profiting here? Not the average American farmer, not the poor and weak we string along with sporadic assistance, but the big corporate entities.
DeleteThis movie pissed me off, made me sick to my stomach, and really opened my eyes. After seeing this, I believe the solutions to many of the world’s problems lies in farming reform, how we approach land use, and how we might produce healthy, and natural foods. Not only will this improve the health of American consumers, it would relieve a lot of stress on the land, population would have to be controlled, or it might be controlled by the regulation of crop yields. And especially to hunt and gather- find and cultivate your own food sources, so you might know what you’re eating and where it came from. I can’t even formulate a conclusion after all that malarkey.
Holy corn! I was not expecting to come away from that documentary having the reaction I have; this was certainly an eye opener. It is distressing to see how far removed we are from the way things used to be. Hundreds of thousands of acres are dedicated to producing mass amounts of a crop that no longer bears nutritional value and lurks in so many CHEAPER food products. The name of the game for farming families is to go big or get the hell out. It's highly unfortunate for those who have been in the farming business for generations to be squeezed out by ever growing industrial agriculture. Takers are now able to produce more corn at a faster pace; technological advances have allowed for the hard work of farming to be done faster than in the past providing more relaxation time. This sounds similar to the Leavers having more family and relaxation due to their simpler and realistic lifestyle, but one major difference is we have become nearly incapable of living in harmony with nature while the Leavers did so effortlessly. It is common knowledge that cows are corn fed, but I never realized that the CORN they eat is killing them in the process of becoming my dinner. I know that the cow will eventually be killed and packaged for distribution so what does it matter that what they are being fed could kill them? Just another eye opener. Much of the agricultural “improvements” that have come along since Earl Butts' expansion plan is compromised nutrition and environmental disaster. It was interesting, frustrating, and sad to watch the film makers speak with Earl and the role that he played in commercial operation of corn. I don't believe the man desired to see corn production become what it is today, but rather that he was seeking to alleviate financial stresses for a hard working family. Unfortunately those motives have led to much of the advancements and destruction we face today.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed watching King Corn but just like when I watched Food inc, Super Size Me and any other documentary that shows me what I'm actually eating, I ended up feeling disgusted towards the end. I wrote down some of the things I learned from the King Corn video as I watched it. One of the most disturbing things I saw when I was watching it was when the two guys finally had their corn growing strong and they went to take a bite of their fresh grown corn it was not edible. I wrote down a quote from that part "The irony is an Iowa man can no longer feed himself". It's so messed up that people have changed a once edible crop into something that needs to be processed before it can be eaten. That's not the way food was intended to be grown and I have not interest in eating something that can no longer naturally be eaten.As King Corn went on, it got to a part where they started talking about the treatment of cows. I think it's awful that people treat another living creature the way we treat cows. They are not meant to eat corn but people force them to eat it anyway and then on top of that they don't let them roam free. The reason they don't allow cows to roam is because the cows don't gain weight fast if they are allowed to graze so farmers put them in total confinement and keep them always eating. While they were talking about the treatment of cows the question of why we feed cows corn instead of grass came up. The answer came to this; if the American people wanted grass fed meat farmers would produce it but people predominantly want cheap food. Corn fed animals are cheaper than grass fed animals. It brings up an interesting point because it's all about what the people want so we could change the system it's just a matter of making people aware. There were many things about King Corn that made me sad but what hit me the most was seeing how the farming industry is changing and how rapidly it is doing so. It's changed from once being a family run industry to now being a commercial run industry. It's really sad because families that have been farming for generations are no longer making enough money to support the business. Earl Butz is a huge reason the industry has changed so much and it was really interesting seeing his perspective of the industry and seeing the way he feels about the decisions he made as a senator. Overall King Corn taught me a lot about the food I eat and how it gets to my plate. It made me more aware of how I can help make a difference and as well as educational it was really interesting to watch and put a really personal refreshing spin on documentary.
ReplyDeleteIt's easy to say watching King Corn was an experience. Going into the showing I expected it to be like every other documentary on food and how it is changing the world, but this documentary was different, it was actually interesting. What I found the most interesting and shocking is that people that grow corn in Iowa don't eat the food they grow, even though that was the whole point of farming to begin with. What was even more of an eye opener is the fact that corn is in almost everything we eat, from the meat that we eat to the sweetener in our cereal. What surprises me even more is that our bodies don't digest corn, so why do we keep on putting it into our bodies? At the very beginning of the documentary Ian says that our generation will not live as long as the past ones because of what we eat, which is TERRIFYING! Our lifespans are shortened merely because we can make cheap and abundant corn. What I also found fascinating was the fact that they couldn't get permission to film inside of the corn syrup factories. I believe that to be so because if it was known to the public what actually goes on in those factories people wouldn't buy the products. After watching this documentary and even taking this class, it raises the question for me, is ignorance really bliss? I know all of these facts and concepts that are ruining the planet and our bodies, but what do I do with all of this knowledge now, and would life be easier without knowing how dark the world seems to be. Now I don't look at food the same way because I know what's actually going on behind making this bowl of popcorn. Either way, King Corn really did bring into perspective how much the agriculture has changed since 1973 and how we are possibly in another Agricultural Revolution, if we can even call it a revolution.
ReplyDeleteWOW!!! I wasn't sure what to expect before watching this film. I have always heard about high fructose corn syrup being in everything but haven't really paid any attention but after watching this film I just can't believe it! Being a baker I use corn starch in certain things but I never have taken the time to really think about how much corn we use in daily food items. I am very glad that I had the time and opportunity to watch this film and really grasp the idea about how much corn we actually use and how some people treat their cows as well as watching how high fructose corn syrup is made with all of the chemicals that are put into it. Then thinking about how our bodies don't break down corn...but almost EVERYTHING has corn in it!!
ReplyDeleteI had no idea how important corn is and how often we encounter it in our daily lives. Even in our hair!, when I heard that I didn't even know it was possible to find that information out. This film had some really great visuals like the frame by frame tracking of where Ian and Curtis' corn were going. I also really liked the visuals where the fisher price toys were used to show the expansion of corn throughout the years. I also thought that the film had some nice subtle comedy mixed into it, I enjoyed watching the two play baseball in their feild and go ice fishing. Another thing I found nice about this film was how it was broken down by month. There was also some really incredible facts that were in this film, the most mind blowing to me is that they were able to plant their acre of corn with over 30,000 seeds in just 18 minutes. The machinery in this film was also very advanced, I had no idea some of these machines even existed on such a large scale. This film was very interesting and had a nice mix of education and comedy as well. Overall King Corn tells a story of something I never took the time to realize goes on everyday that I take for granted.
ReplyDelete