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Friday, June 19, 2009

Corn: It's What's For Dinner

I both cannot wait -- yet am scared to death -- to see this documentary.



From the movie, quoted in Roger Ebert's review: "Corn, in fact, is an ingredient in 80 percent of supermarket products, including batteries and Splenda. Processing concentrates it. You couldn't eat enough corn kernels in a day to equal the number of calories in a bag of corn chips."

This is what America is all about right? Little business grows into big business. Bigger, faster, cheaper, better. But at what cost? In a nation that idolizes the thin yet is overrun with obesity, why do we make it so hard for the average family to buy good, healthy food without going broke?

More of Ebert's review here, and Ann Hornaday's review here. I don't think I'll be getting popcorn at this movie.

6 comments:

cheatymoon said...

Ack. I wonder what will be left for me to eat after seeing this film. I'm picky enough as it is...

Thanks for the heads up.

The House That A-M Built said...

I am intrigued. I am going to go searching for it. Just my luck, it's not anywhere in Australia yet. A-M xx

knitseashore said...

As a side note, supermarket pet food is also full of corn! Cats are not supposed to eat it, and someone told me that it may be a cause of rising rates of diabetes. Finding healthy food tailored to our pets' actual dietary needs, and not the big companies' pocketbooks, is a challenge.

Anonymous said...

You're crazy. Popcorn is delicious.

essbesee said...

love ebert, miss siskel. thanks for this post, want to check this one out.

Katie said...

In the meantime, watch King Corn. It was an independent movie that, I think, PBS put out. It's about how much our food industry depends on corn for EVERYTHING - even bacon (?). Two college kids by an acre of land in Iowa and grow corn. They show how the growth of food in America has become machine operated and very impersonal. They interview a lot of farmers and also show how the corporate giant farms work. They also follow where the corn goes once it's harvested. It made me start looking at my processed food more closely and also led me to start buying meat and eggs from local farmers.

--Katie
http://frillythinking.blogspot.com