If your local PBS station carries the excellent documentary film program “Independent Lens”, be sure to watch the film “King Corn”, which begins airing nationally this week. Here in the Boston area, it will be on Channel 44 at 3:00 a.m. on Thursday (don’t complain, that’s what TiVo is for) and again on Sunday, April 27 at 9:30 p.m.
Starting with the premise of two friends who plant an acre of corn, the film traces the path of corn crops in America from the farm through the entire economy and the enormous impact that corn has on our entire way of life: its effects on our health from the widespread use of HFCS, its effects on our environment as the basis for most ethanol production, its effect on our economy through farm subsidies, and more. Just as Eric Schlosser’s book “Fast Food Nation” woke up millions of people several years ago to the huge impact the fast food industry has, so does this film do the same for corn.
The airing of this film comes at a critical time as food shortages are beginning to have a serious impact on the lives of millions upon millions of people all over the world. The government of Haiti was overthrown over the weekend due to increasing public turmoil over the unavailability of basic food supplies. Last year, food riots in Mexico resulted over the steep increase in the price of tortillas due to corn crops being diverted to the production of ethanol to sell in the United States. Increased grain prices are blamed for recent rioting in Yemen. All told, rioting related to food shortages has occurred in 37 countries in the last twelve months, and in many cases the diversion of crops to the production of biofuels is one of the underlying causes.
Are we really going to starve the world so we can keep sucking down gallons of soda while we drive around in our SUVs? Looks like it.
Thanks for that, I’ve been waiting to see it. Tivo (in the generic sense of the term only) set.