In the movie "King Corn" two city-boys from Boston decide to find out where their food comes from. Upon finding that an incredible amount of food comes from corn they decide to see where it comes from. The documentary portrays their journey to Iowa where they have decided to plant an acre of the product. They are aided by local farmers in the tending of their crop as it grows. While waiting for the harvest the partners, Ian Cheney and Curt Ellis follow the trail of corn to see where it goes. They find that most corn used as animal feed. For this reason they visit a large beef operation. The cattle there are kept in feed lots to restrict their movements and aid in the fattening process. They are also fed a diet consisting of sixty percent corn, and corn products, which helps them attain market weight in a third of the time. After this adventure Ian and Curt attempt to see how corn syrup is made. They are not allowed into the plant, but they are able to make some of their own at home. It displays the irony that although farmers produce more cops than ever before, many cannot feed themselves with what they grow, because it needs to be processed first. Another trend shown in the movie was the consolidation of farmland under the largest farmers. The smaller farmers were being squeezed out. I have noticed this trend myself as the little farm I have worked for in past summers struggles to turn a profit each year.
This movie shows the startling, yet unsurprising revelation that people don't care where "it" comes from so long as it is cheap and it works, no matter what "it" is. This is a bit frightening in the food industry. No one seems to care what they consume, even if it is bad for them. This is a problem considering that there is no incentive for farmers to switch crops, as they can make money much more easily on corn than anything else they could grow, especially in the plains states. Yet even with corn the farmers would loose money if not for the government subsidies that augment their profits. Because of this system people can feed themselves more inexpensively than anyone else in history. It must then be weighed: is it worth the cost.
You are right when you said consumers don't really care about where their foods come from as long as it is cheap and it works. I think our indifference towards what we consume everyday is working as a part of factors that maintain the empirical systems. Even in the film that I watched - Black Gold - Ethiopian coffee farmers have to work for 8 hours to get a $1 for one kilo of coffee (which can brew 80 cups of coffee) and we buy them in Starbucks for $4 for a cup of coffee. I think there is so much disparities in our food industries, but, as you argue, cheapest and best product is all we ever want in the consumerism system. I think Justice and equality has lost its importance against market price.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments, Chase. Does this film make you want to change your eating habits at all, or do you just feel trapped (or apathetic)?
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