Brief Summary Of The Documentary 'King Corn'
King Corn The industrialization of corn and other crops has caused more harm than good. A lot of this has been pushed along by government programs and food companies looking to make a quicker profit, at the cost of the health of their customers. Corn is no longer corn. Covered in chemicals, inedible until processed, the production of high fructose corn syrup, the loss of small family farms, it’s damage to the environment, and its use as cattle feed are a few of the reasons this new era of corn needs to be changed. The documentary King Corn follows two guys fresh out of college as they travel to Iowa in attempt to better know where their food is coming from. There, they are allowed to use one acre to grow corn, and learn all the ways farming has changed since their great grandparents had been there. As the seasons pass
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and the corn grows, they document the path their corn is taken on once harvested, and reveal some disturbing truths about today’s food consumption. Americans have become desensitized to seeing high fructose corn syrup on the ingredients list of nutrition labels. It goes in to so many products now, that to avoid it in our diets would greatly limit the options in a grocery store. Used as a sweetener, it is a cheaper alternative to sugar. However, pumping so many added sugars in to our daily foods, means people are consuming far more hidden and unneeded calories which provide no added nutrients. There is a 70% chance that the corn grown in the documentary will end up sweetening a beverage. One guy they interacted with explained how he used to drink large quantities of soda every day, and was dangerously overweight as result. Simply by cutting out this overly sweet drink from his diet, he was able to lose a lot of weight.
Weight gain is one of the primary concerns with the use of high fructose corn syrup. With weight gain comes a vast variety of medical problems such as cardiac trouble and diabetes. Part of the reason people are consuming these snacks is due to the way branding tries to hide how unhealthy it is. Using unregulating terms like “all natural” misleads buyers in to thinking they are purchasing something with higher nutritional value. Although this issue could be combated with awareness, many people are still falling for these marketing techniques and are unknowingly consuming incredibly unhealthy snacks with their families. Even if corn syrups is not being used, corn filler likey is. Found in prepackaged snacks as a cheap way to fill out the food, it is also dangerously unhealthy. In the documentary, they attempted to make their own corn syrup, but it was so sweet it was inedible to them despite being correctly made. Other than being cheaper, is there any benefit to this kind of corn and production? Money is not the only factor that should be in consideration. Environment and health will be impacted for generations as a result of this shift in corn and products.
Corn is not just finding its way into prepackaged snacks, but in to the beef we purchase as well.
Corn is being ground up and fed to cows in large quantities. This is done to fatten up cattle quicker, making the butchering process overall more efficient. But once again, the vast amounts of negative effects are being ignored in support of a greater profit. Cows are unable to digest corn in these amounts and should be grass fed. As a result, they start to get sick after approximately 3 months of this diet. To combat this they are given antibiotics, which end up in the meat for consumption. Eating this amount of antibiotics is dangerous, and could lead to resistant bacteria strains that are unable to be treated or killed. Despite this, livestock consumes 70% of the antibiotics in America. This entire process diminishes the quality of life of boh the cows raised in these conditions, and of the people consuming it. Grass Fed cows is a far better alternative, and would be made more feasible in this country would slow down it’s over consumption of fatty beef. Advances in farming technology has made it profitable only for farmer with a lot of land
acreage. A specific group struggling with these changes in the way corn is being produced is the famers. Commercialized farming is the start of the end of small traditional family farms and many locally grown operations. Without government payments, farmers actually lose money on corn. The movie states that $28 is paid per acre, which causes farming to only make sense for those who have larger properties. On top of all this, the fertilizer anhydrous ammonia is used by many farms. It causes 4 times the amount of corn to be grown, but has environmental ramifications and ends up being consumed.
One of the main sources of this issue is the market’s continuous demand for processed foods. It can be hard to tell whether this demand is the genuine requests of the consumers, or is it simply an effect of the push for farm subsidies. Whether created by genuine demand, or by legislation, grocery stores are now stocked with corn products. If the consumers want different options, then they need to actively avoid foods they do not support, and vote with their money. Attention to the process in which our food reaches the store should be paid closer attention, and a push for change in legislation should be pursued. Until then, shopping smart is a great first step.
and the corn grows, they document the path their corn is taken on once harvested, and reveal some disturbing truths about today’s food consumption. Americans have become desensitized to seeing high fructose corn syrup on the ingredients list of nutrition labels. It goes in to so many products now, that to avoid it in our diets would greatly limit the options in a grocery store. Used as a sweetener, it is a cheaper alternative to sugar. However, pumping so many added sugars in to our daily foods, means people are consuming far more hidden and unneeded calories which provide no added nutrients. There is a 70% chance that the corn grown in the documentary will end up sweetening a beverage. One guy they interacted with explained how he used to drink large quantities of soda every day, and was dangerously overweight as result. Simply by cutting out this overly sweet drink from his diet, he was able to lose a lot of weight.
Weight gain is one of the primary concerns with the use of high fructose corn syrup. With weight gain comes a vast variety of medical problems such as cardiac trouble and diabetes. Part of the reason people are consuming these snacks is due to the way branding tries to hide how unhealthy it is. Using unregulating terms like “all natural” misleads buyers in to thinking they are purchasing something with higher nutritional value. Although this issue could be combated with awareness, many people are still falling for these marketing techniques and are unknowingly consuming incredibly unhealthy snacks with their families. Even if corn syrups is not being used, corn filler likey is. Found in prepackaged snacks as a cheap way to fill out the food, it is also dangerously unhealthy. In the documentary, they attempted to make their own corn syrup, but it was so sweet it was inedible to them despite being correctly made. Other than being cheaper, is there any benefit to this kind of corn and production? Money is not the only factor that should be in consideration. Environment and health will be impacted for generations as a result of this shift in corn and products.
Corn is not just finding its way into prepackaged snacks, but in to the beef we purchase as well.
Corn is being ground up and fed to cows in large quantities. This is done to fatten up cattle quicker, making the butchering process overall more efficient. But once again, the vast amounts of negative effects are being ignored in support of a greater profit. Cows are unable to digest corn in these amounts and should be grass fed. As a result, they start to get sick after approximately 3 months of this diet. To combat this they are given antibiotics, which end up in the meat for consumption. Eating this amount of antibiotics is dangerous, and could lead to resistant bacteria strains that are unable to be treated or killed. Despite this, livestock consumes 70% of the antibiotics in America. This entire process diminishes the quality of life of boh the cows raised in these conditions, and of the people consuming it. Grass Fed cows is a far better alternative, and would be made more feasible in this country would slow down it’s over consumption of fatty beef. Advances in farming technology has made it profitable only for farmer with a lot of land
acreage. A specific group struggling with these changes in the way corn is being produced is the famers. Commercialized farming is the start of the end of small traditional family farms and many locally grown operations. Without government payments, farmers actually lose money on corn. The movie states that $28 is paid per acre, which causes farming to only make sense for those who have larger properties. On top of all this, the fertilizer anhydrous ammonia is used by many farms. It causes 4 times the amount of corn to be grown, but has environmental ramifications and ends up being consumed.
One of the main sources of this issue is the market’s continuous demand for processed foods. It can be hard to tell whether this demand is the genuine requests of the consumers, or is it simply an effect of the push for farm subsidies. Whether created by genuine demand, or by legislation, grocery stores are now stocked with corn products. If the consumers want different options, then they need to actively avoid foods they do not support, and vote with their money. Attention to the process in which our food reaches the store should be paid closer attention, and a push for change in legislation should be pursued. Until then, shopping smart is a great first step.