When
two friends discovered that humans today have a shorter lifespan than our
previous generation, they decided to find out why. Ian Cheney's and Curt
Ellis' analysis led them to discover that our hair tells the story of what we
(physically) are, and when they had their hair tested, the majority of the
carbon originated from corn. This led them to rent one acre of corn in Greene, Iowa, arguably the nation's largest corn producer, and track
its progress throughout one growing season - to find out where this product
ended up and what makes this crop so prevalent within our lives.
In
1973, Earl Butz, the Secretary of Agriculture, decided that what our country
needed was an increased production of corn. Previously, farmers had been paid by the government
for not producing corn, which kept prices high by limiting the amount of the
grain produced. The farmers before 1973 also ate the product that they
produced, which isn't so much the story today. When Butz reformed the
agriculture policy, subsidy payments were granted from the government to
farmers who grew corn, so the more corn, the better. This led to an
overproduction of cheap corn, which is having a large impact on our health as a
society.
Since
farmers wanted to produce corn on levels never before seen, genetic
modification allowed corn to yield greater numbers. The amount was so great that
one acre of land could now produce 5 tons of food. The corn grown now doesn't
necessarily produce more corn heads per plant, but allows the plants to
tolerate living closer together. Also, the injection of ammonia fertilizer into
the ground allows corn to grow at tremendous rates. However, most of the corn
that is actually being grown cannot be eaten right away - it must be processed
first. As noted in the documentary, 32% of corn production is either exported
or goes to ethanol production; over 50% of corn is fed to animals; the rest is
put into our food.
Americans
demand cheap food. Since corn fed cows are cheaper to raise than cows that
graze on grass, they get fatter quicker and can be sold for less. With this in
mind, a typical steak that a grass fed cow would have contained 1.3 grams of
saturated fat, as opposed to a corn fed cow, which would contain over 9 grams
of saturated fat. Corn also feeds the sweetener industry. High fructose corn
syrup is popular and dominant within many of our foods and drinks, and since it
is cheap to produce and sell, the market likes it. Nutritionists, though, blame
corn syrups as a main source of "empty calories" within our society, and
is responsible for many health risks, most commonly obesity and diabetes.
It is
incredible that if you are under age 30, you have probably only eaten corn-fed
beef and sodas sweetened with high fructose corn syrup. The corn industry is
having adverse effects on the American population, all of which began as a
political and economic desire to have something cost less. Being that this
industry is less than 40 years old, we may not be aware of its complete impact
on human health. Is this going to affect our economy when the "corn-fed"
generation of Americans need health care on a scale never before seen?
Cheney, Ian, and Curt Ellis. "King Corn." Hulu. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2012. <http://www.hulu.com/watch/255609>.
thanks
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