King corn You are what you eat

In the same vein as Super Size Me and Fast Food Nation, King Corn exposes the viewer to little-known facts about the American food industry. The film follows friends Ian Cheney and Curt Ellis as they decide to plant one acre of corn in Iowa and track the results through the harvest and beyond. They are coached by local farmers in the process, which includes the use of pesticides and herbicides, and come to the dawning realization that their corn is inedible and will primarily be used for high-fructose corn syrup and animal feed. The film also looks at the state of factory farming, governmental farm subsidies, and the decline of the traditional family farm. Easy to watch film and interwoven with quirky animation; recommended for any library, but especially those in areas with a high interest in sustainability and environmentalism.--Manya Shorr, Omaha P.L. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

G 8 Up-Two college friends, Ian Cheney and Curt Ellis, with family ties to Iowa decide to plant an acre of corn and follow it from seed to harvest and into the food chain. They interview farmers, scientists, and government officials, including former Secretary of Agriculture Earl Butz, as they examine the increasing amount of corn that is raised in the United States and how much of it is turned into high fructose corn syrup or fed to cattle.ÅSegments, divided by month, are accompanied by an appropriate folksy musical soundtrack and plod along at a deliberate pace.ÅThe filmmakers rent the land, drive the tractor, spray fertilizer on the field, and harvest 180 bushels of corn that is sold to the local grain elevator in Greene, Iowa.ÅTheir narration raises questions, all tied to what they view as the over-production of corn, concerning sweeteners made from corn and the obesity rates in America, feed lots,Åthe loss of family farms to industrial farming, andÅthe role of government subsidies.ÅStudents in farming communities are sure to debate many statements and ideas presented here. The film can be utilized as a launch pad to research its major premises.ÅA singular addition to library collections.-Patricia Ann Owens, Wabash Valley College, Mt. Carmel, IL (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.