Shuck Dat Corn Before You Eat

Taking a break from all of the presidential campaign excitement, I want to talk about…corn.

Last night I attended a packed screening of the documentary King Corn, in which two guys from Boston set out for Iowa to grow an acre of corn. Along the way, they talk to doctors, corporate corn syrup manufacturing representatives, agronomists, cattle ranchers, and, of course, corn farmers, and uncover a ton of unsettling facts about industrial farming, and how it impacts what we buy and eat.

The film is enlightening, to put it lightly. As fans of the Omnivore’s Dilemma (*side note: Michael Pollan was an early advisor for King Corn) may have already discovered: our food chain has changed for the worse over the past 30 years, impacting our health, our economy, and the American farmer. The two filmmakers grow an acre of nearly inedible commodity corn destined to become stock for corn syrup, which they learn may be partially responsible for the fact that young Americans today may have a shorter lifespan than that of their parents. (The Accidental Hedonist has a great list of products containing high fructose corn syrup here.)

This week, Congress is debating H.R. 2419, also known as the Farm, Nutrition, and Bioenergy Act of 2007, or simply, the Farm Bill. As it is currently written, the bill (which Bush has threatened to veto) would cut direct farm payments by $313 million, reduce crop insurance funds by $5.75 billion over 10 years, and deny direct payments and stewardship payments to operators with more than $500,000 AGI from off-farm sources. All of this would mean the closest thing to agricultural reform our country has seen in 30 years.

King Corn filmmaker Ian Cheney spoke after the screening about the Farm Bill and how they hope their film has shed some light on the largely hidden reality that is industrial farming.

Let’s keep our fingers crossed…

Caller: All dem purty gals will be dar,
Chorus: Shuck dat corn before you eat.

Caller: They will fix it for us rare,
Chorus: Shuck dat corn before you eat.

Caller: I know dat supper will be big,
Chorus: Shuck dat corn before you eat.

Caller: I think I smell a fine roast pig,
Chorus: Shuck dat corn before you eat.

Caller: I hope dey’ll have some whisky* dar,
Chorus: Shuck dat corn before you eat.

Caller: I think I’ll fill my pockets full,
Chorus: Shuck dat corn before you eat.