Saturday, January 25, 2014
King Corn
I watched to movie King Corn. King Corn was a real eye opening experience for me. The film answered many questions for me, including why we as a country are so obese. The film left some burning questions I had unanswered. I am curious to learn more about the social fabric of rural communities as farms grow larger and the family farm becomes a thing of the past. Why kind of jobs are available for the kids of family farmers who no longer can make a living in farming? What will happen to communities like Greene, Iowa? I found the town of Green, Iowa to be very charming in a way and I am sure many of the people really value their close tight knit community. It seems like there are lots of little towns right around here that are similar to Greene and all facing an uncertain future. I am curious as to why the federal government is so heavily involved in what farmers grow. For a while I just assumed that market forces determined what farmers grew but clearly this isn't true. Overall King Corn is a really good film because it present food issues through peoples stories and lives. Apparently the ideas behind this film had some real impact.
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I really want to see this film! I live pretty much surrounded by corn fields. A primary entertainment for my family in the summer is to walk through one huge cornfield every Friday evening and see how much taller the corn is since the last time we walked through. I get used to running past these fields in the mornings as the corn gets taller and taller - and then one day, bam, it's just gone. Before it gets cut, it's usually gone all brown and withered. No one waters it. Apparently it isn't being grown as food but for some other purpose - probably to be used for one of the zillion other things corn is used to make!
ReplyDeleteI never really knew how involved the government was with the food industry and farms until this course and it has really brought a lot of insight to how I view the industry and also how I view our government.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know that the government and farmers were connected in anyway. It's sad to know that farmers lose their jobs when they depend on it to support their family.
ReplyDeleteI had no idea that the government and farmers were connected in anyway either! I also wonder what kind of jobs kids that grow up in a farming household can get outside of farming.
ReplyDeleteI always find reading these types of things so interesting.
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