Feb 17 2010
KING CORN & INDUSTRILIZED AGRICULTURE
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Today in class, we finished the movie KING CORN. The movie is fimed by two college friends who grew two acre of corn in Iowa to examine the influence of larger industrilizesd corn production. At the last twenty minuts of movie, Ian and Curtis leave the farm to see where their acre of corn ends up. But they are upset about the realities that the abundance of corn tends to make fast food cheap and consumers sick; the larger corn supply drives animals into confinement and farmers off the land. Although nutritionists claim that corn-feeding make animals sick and fatty, people still use it; because Americans want cheap food. Ian and Curties also find out that almost everything we eat constains corn– high fructose corn syrup, corn-fed meat, and corn-based processed foods. At the end, they decide not to plan corn again. The movie reflects some pros and cons of the industrilized food system.
Pros:
- more efficient production
- cheaper food
Cons:
- shorter life span
- ramifications on environment such as water pollution
- farmers don’t make profits
http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/kingcorn/film.html
