King Corn
This week we recorded the movie King Corn on our DVR; it was on Independent Lens on PBS. I also began reading Michael Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma this week as well, an odd coincidence. The movie basically echoes Pollan’s first section in his book where he discusses our nation’s dependence on corn. Watching the movie however made more of an impact on me, perhaps because of the visuals. One of the most disturbing sections is when the filmmakers eat the corn they’re growing and one describes the taste as “sawdust,” then spits it out. Most of the corn grown in this country is an ingredient for processing, not really a food. It is unbelievable how pervasive corn is in everything we eat.
After watching the movie I want to decrease our dependence on corn — but I am not sure where to start. It seems that just about everything has corn in it from coffee cups to meat. To make matters more confusing corn has so many different names in the ingredient list it can be difficult to identify it.
Does anyone have any ideas on how to reduce corn in our diet? Has anyone else seen this movie and/or have opinions about this issue?
Stay away from Fast Food. i forget how much corn a Big Mac actually has but it is a LOT. Corn syrup as one of the ingredients on the label at the grocery store, put it back. More fresh fruits and vegetables less meat because unfortunately corn is a staple of livestock diets now.
My husband started two years ago to become very conscious of corn syrup, bleached enriched flour rather than unbleached, no dairy for him at all, I still eat cheese and yogurt cannot give it up. he lost 50 pounds and I lost 35. Did not change anything except diet. Now, we are adding the exercise component.
Good luck getting corn out of your diet. You will be healthier. It is not that corn is bad but it is the excessive corn that causes the problem.
Wow, your story is inspiring. Thank you for sharing. You made some good points that should be simple to follow. I think I will write up a small list and keep it in my wallet to remind me of what foods I should avoid. Thanks again!
Gloria’s on the money about corn in Fast Food. Unfortunately, it’s in almost all processed foods (most often in the form of high fructose corn syrup) which means it’s in almost all restaurant meals, including the high end.
Fish, prepared and consumed at home, is probably still corn-free. And no matter what, I can’t believe it’s bad once in a while to have a couple of ears of sweet corn-on-the-cob in season, with salt and yes, real butter. That way at least, we get the benefit of consuming the whole grain.
A helpful tip I read recently is to consume only prepared foods that have five or less listed ingredients (and of course, none of those should be high fructose corn syrup). It’s a worthy goal.
These days I’m buying only organic ketchup, for instance.
Thanks for your comments. You’ve made some good points, I think we will start out by trying to have fish 2 nights a week instead of chicken.
I also like the tip about processed foods, I’m going to add it to the list I’m making. Thanks again!
We’re also thinking about trying to get grass-fed beef when we do eat beef. Click here for a map of nearby farmers producing grassfed beef, accodding to http://www.eatwild.com.
There are also some sites in Eric Schlosser’s Fast Food Nation:
http://www.lasatergrasslandsbeef.com
http://www.heritagefoodsusa.com
Anyone who is not used to eating grass fed beef may have a bit of a taste adjustment to make. There is a decided difference in the taste between grass fed and corn fed. I grew up on a small farm where the beef was mainly grass fed. I love it. My husband on the other hand has a bit of a time adjustment for taste reasons. it is decidedly better for you and there of course are less instances of antibiotics and growth hormone in the beef which should also ALWAYS be taken into consideration.
Five ingredients or less is a good rule of thumb. who knew that grocery shopping could be so challenging and entertaining.
Keep on reading Omnivore’s Dilemma. You will get more convicted to stop eating corn fed everything!!
I live in Oberlin and found a wonderful local farmer who, after reading Omnivore’s Dilemma, set out to feed his steers just like the Virginia farmer in the book.
I have also done a huge study on corn and all it’s varieties; my quest has been to clean up my families food. NOTHING processed!! It’s hard once you start to eliminate things, but it gets easier.
King Corn was shown at the Environmental Center at Oberlin College, it too, was very eye opening for me. What is inspiring to me is that so many people are realizing that local, seasonal foods are best for you to eat and these are getting easier to find.
check out http://www.localharvest.org and put in your zip code to find local everything.
Paula
I know that King Corn is also available through Blockbuster as well, because that is where I discovered it. It was definitely a real eye-opener on how pervasive corn is in so many products, food and otherwise.
I think the saddest part for me was seeing how Earl Butz was still adamant after all of these decades that what he did back in the 70’s was still the best thing for America’s future.
I was just thinking the other day how many things corn has ruined: beef, beer, soda, and vegetables in general (through higher prices based on corn subsidies).