King Corn

King Corn is a feature documentary film released in October 2007 following college friends Ian Cheney and Curtis Ellis as they move to Greene, Iowa to grow and farm an acre of corn. In the process, Cheney and Ellis examine the role that the increasing production of corn has for American society.
The film shows how the industrialization of corn has all but eliminated the family farm, which is being replaced by larger and larger industrial farms. This trend reflects a larger industrialization of the North American food system, whereby, as was outlined in the film, decisions relating to what crops are grown, and how they are grown, are based more on economic considerations than their ramifications on the environment or the population. This is demonstrated in the film by the production of high fructose corn syrup, an ingredient found in many cheap food products, such as fast food, which has an adverse impact on the health of America. The two return to the same small town that was coincidentally home to both of their great-grandfathers.

Download the torrent and watch for yourself… you will be amazed what’s in your food
We are the first generation of people that will likely have a shorter life span than our parents, largely because of the food we eat. A scientist then states that a disproportionally large amount of the carbon in our bodies comes from corn. Both of these are probably little known facts. Whose fault is that?

Genetically modified seed
Corn yield has increased by selecting types of corn plants that grow closer to each other so there are more corn plants per acre. This has increased the yield from 40 bushels per acre in the past to 200 bushels of corn per acre now. The trade off is that it has more starch and less protein. Is the trade off worth it?
Most farmers use genetically modified seeds to make crops like corn resistant to the herbicide weed killers (e.g., Liberty-ready, Roundup-ready). The result is that an entire field can efficiently be sprayed with herbicides without killing the crops. This keeps the yield per acre high and thus lowers the cost we pay for food.

Corn fed
Corn grain isn’t a healthy food for cows, and too much of it will produce acidosis, which will kill them. Large cattle feedlots are unsanitary and expose the cows to diseases. Antibiotics are put into corn feed to help combat both acidosis and disease from confinement; about 70% of the antibiotics in this country go to that purpose. All of this is driven by economics: corn is cheap food, and confinement allows cows to put on weight quickly. Is the tradeoff worth it?
According to one expert in the film, the muscle in factory farmed cows looks more like fat tissue than muscle tissue. Steak from grain-fed cows has about 5 times the saturated fat as grass fed cows. Again, this is driven by economics: steak with less saturated fat would mean spending more money on how cows are raised. Is the tradeoff worth it?

The corn sweetener industry emerged as an outlet for the excess corn that was produced after farming was deregulated. About 70% of high fructose corn syrup goes into beverage sweeteners. One problem this creates is obesity: one expert stated that drinking calories doesn’t produce the digestive “stop signals” that eating calories does. Another problem with sweet beverages is that it contributes to type 2 diabetes.
“We spend less of our income on food than any generation in history, and fewer of us are needed to produce that food than ever before. But we also might be the first generation to live in a time when abundance brings too much.”
Human become fatter because every food is made out of genetically modified corn!

List of products that uses corn


Buyer’s guide
Mike Robinson shows you how to tell the difference between a battery hen and a free-range chicken, and how to choose other types of poultry.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/get_cooking/cooks_guide/poultry.shtml#why_buy_free-range?