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 … continue reading