King Corn

[darkemeralds]

I just got done watching "King Corn," a documentary about, well, corn. I think everyone who eats in America should give it a look. "Enough to leave you distrusful of everything on your plate," says one review.



"King Corn" is really about the food supply in America. The story begins with the filmmakers, Ian Cheney and Curt Ellis, having hair samples tested in a lab. "We're made out of corn," they say. They spend a year in Iowa growing an acre of corn and finding out how it is that they came to be so thoroughly corn-fed.

The film draws an explicit and direct line from US farm policy changes in the late 1970s, through the fabulously productive cornfields of Iowa, to today's epidemic of obesity and diabetes. It confirms what I've long suspected: that there's something in the food supply that is making us sick--and that something is today's corn.

With some great music by the WoWz, some cute stop-motion animation, some beautiful footage of Iowa, and an oddly slashable pair of filmmakers some really worthwhile bonus features, "King Corn" is a pretty entertaining way to inspire a major change in your view of food.

Comments

[skripka.livejournal.com]

*adds to netflix queue*

[emeraldsedai.livejournal.com]

Hope you enjoy it!

[roseambr.livejournal.com]

It's on tonights agenda for hubby and I to watch. I mentioned this before but when I recently took a cooking class from John and Capril they spoke of the documentary and were very amazed. They are pretty in touch with healthy food preparation and they were still surprised by the extent of the corn issue. Especially corn syrup and it's impact on the body.

[emeraldsedai.livejournal.com]

If John and Caprial learned something new from it, then I feel very justified in spreading the word! You and I have been aware of the HFCS issue for a long time now, but this documentary also covers the impact of corn on our meat supply. I'm not ready to become a vegetarian over it, but I'll tell you what: I'd be happy to limit my beef intake to occasional small quantities of expensive local grass-fed beef from now on!

Much to discuss after you've seen it. In case you're not a "bonus features" watcher, let me recommend, at least, the one labeled "Iowa" and the very last one on that menu.

[n1kole68.livejournal.com]

Yeah!

[willenne77.livejournal.com]

Much appreciated

[inalasahl]

Whenever I try to talk to someone about how bad corn is environmentally, nutritionally and economically, people think I'm joking. I've got to get my hands on this movie.

[emeraldsedai.livejournal.com]

Seriously.

Not only is "King Corn" informative and pretty paradigm-shifting, but it's very entertaining, even laugh-out-loud funny in places. My nephew's 7th-grade class at Environmental Middle School watched it: it's completely accessible to kids. And it makes its point without offending (for instance) farmers, Midwesterners, or conservatives.

It's a fine piece of work.