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Is corn making us fat? New documentary says yes

posted Tuesday, April 8, 2008 8:47am

See more on: Blogs, Health Care, Community Cinema, Agriculture, Documentaries, Independent Lens

"For the first time in American history, our generation was at risk of having a shorter lifespan than our parents. And it was because of what we ate." -- Curt Ellis, filmmaker, "King Corn"

Is corn, the all-American staple, truly the cause of some all-American obesity? The makers of the new documentary "King Corn" think so. They say cheap commodity corn – the driving force behind America's cheap burgers and 72-oz. sodas – is a major culprit in our nation's hard-to-ignore obesity epidemic (the Centers for Disease Control currently predict that one in three first graders will develop Type II diabetes in their lifetime).

So is corn making us fat? Or is this a question of good old personal responsibility? This was the topic of the discussion following Rocky Mountain PBS' March 26 screening of "King Corn." (See photo slide show below by the fabulous CU Denver College of Arts and Media's photographer Clinton T. Sander.) We had a lively debate featuring some folks on fairly opposite ends of this issue: Don Ament, former commissioner of the Colorado Department of Agriculture; Steve Billig, a nutritionist and a member of the Access to Healthy Foods subcommittee of the Mayor's Committee on Health and Wellness; Sue Jarrett, a Wray, Colorado, rancher and advocate against corporate agriculture, who also appears in "King Corn"; Mark Sponsler, CEO of the Colorado Corn Association; and Cynthia Torres, a national Food & Society Policy Fellow. Greg Dobbs, host of "Colorado State of Mind" moderated the event.

Photos from Rocky Mountain PBS' ITVS Community Cinema screening of "King Corn"

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Ament and Sponsler claimed (and I'm paraphrasing) that some of the film is unfair, that personal responsibility is key, that vilified high-fructose corn syrup is no worse for us than table sugar, and that Americans appreciate and demand the cheap food that corn-fueled agriculture provides. Billig, Jarrett and Torres expressed (again, paraphrasing) the importance of supporting small, local farms; eating unprocessed food; and learning more about what we put in our bodies.

"King Corn" is getting national attention much in the same way that "Super Size Me" and the book Fast Food Nation did. While it does call into question our nation's agriculture policies as they relate to the health of people, animals and the planet, I think it's a much gentler expose' than "Super Size Me" and its ilk. Thanks to its two subjects Curt Ellis and Ian Cheney, "King Corn" is all good manners and earnest exploration. It's also rather gorgeous in places, with dozens of sweeping, romantic shots of America's farmland. Furthermore, it shows a great deal of respect to American farmers.

And that is why I'm politely urging you to send yourself an e-mail reminder to watch "King Corn" next Tuesday, April 15, at 10 p.m. on "Independent Lens." This is really one documentary you don't want to miss if you eat food in America.

Heck, even if you haven't had a bite of actual corn all year, you'll learn that you're probably surrounded by corn at this very moment. Besides the ubiquitous high fructose corn syrup (start checking labels for it; it's mind-boggling), corn is in everything from batteries to cosmetics to crayons to carpet to ink. You can also tune in to find out how the nation's bulging corn crop effects the bigger picture.

And while I agree that personal responsibility always plays a part, I think "King Corn" raises some interesting questions about health and sustainability.

Have thoughts on the matter? I'm all ears (sorry).

- Allison, Rocky Mountain PBS

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Independent Lens
"King Corn"

Check out rmpbs.org/health for real-life health care stories, blogs and resources.

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What's your point of view?

Leslie
Tuesday, April 8, 2008 › 3:56pm
I attended your screening and was fascinated by the film. I've been telling all my friends to watch it next week. I find it appalling how large business is all about the bottom line, to the detriment of the cattle and the people who eat the meat.

Mary
Tuesday, April 8, 2008 › 4:05pm
My health care provider told me to avoid corn for a short period of time. Only then did I realize that it is everywhere! Even pretzels! I will be watching!

Stephanie
Tuesday, April 8, 2008 › 4:44pm
I hope I'll get an answer to a question I always ask: do we really need high fructose corn syrup in EVERYTHING?!?!?! It's rediculous......Can't wait to watch it.

Sam
Tuesday, April 8, 2008 › 4:44pm
I am from Iowa originally and, yes, when I go back to visit, people are FAT! Knew the founders of ADM CornSweeters . . . HUGE $'s! Good for them but at the expence of America's health. I love corn-on-the-cob but only eat Olathe corn in it's prime and avoid futose sweetners. You are what you eat and you have to be responcable for that!

Ken
Tuesday, April 8, 2008 › 6:06pm
I attended the screening. It was a bit of an eye opener. I thought the comments from the panel in many ways did not address the real problem. People are getting unnecessarily unhealthy from corn products. Don Ament's comments were disingenous. He suggested that in an open market, people were making choices. If they choose to eat corn products, they did so based upon free market ideals. He neglected to discuss how people receive full unbiased information. What's wrong with the free market theory of choices been made is that the "corn sugar supplement" companies, particularly Pepsi and Coca Cola, have a monstrously huge advertising budget. People are not informed about the amount of corn sugar in products and their effect. It is not even close to being an even playing field of choice as Mr Ament insisted. It's kind of like the tabbaco producers of recent yore, insisting that it's a matter of choice. I don't think there are any bad guys that have gotten us to this point. Normal capitalist and profitable business processes have occurred. But, there are some serious health issues that must be addressed, pronto. And, I was amazed to learn that our government is paying subsidies to keep the corn production up. It's not even close to a free market situation. I don't have a solution. I do know mulit-ton gorillas advertises products that are loaded with corn sweeteners. I do know that even JeffCo public schools were bribed into taking Pepsi products. I would like to hear more about a solution.
Personally, I will be more aware than ever, but what about those kept in the dark??

Kate
Sunday, April 13, 2008 › 10:50pm
I've seen the film, and it makes two things very clear -- high fructose corn syrup is bad for you and if you eat processed food you can't avoid it. FYI the farm set used in the animation was from Curt's childhood. Watch for the NY taxi driver -- scary stuff, and the cows, and...Everyone in America should watch this. It's also very entertaining.

Becky
Friday, April 25, 2008 › 4:47am
Missed it! Have been stuggling with the high fructose corrn syrup problem for quite a while--incredible how widespead it is.

When will there be a rerun of the progam?

JL Laurence
Wednesday, July 23, 2008 › 3:19pm
I just saw the rerun of King Corn in July and wow was I amazed... after Iwent to my refridgerator and all jams, salad dressings, salsa, ketchup and mustard all had gobs of corn syrup, or corn fructrose.
I was checking on beef after I saw the cows in this film fed on corn and what that could do to the cows, later I went shopping only to find the packages, just noted that there are no pesticides or growth hormones nothing about corn! Does the FDA expect them(labeling etc) to tell us if they are corn fed?

Thank you guys for the film and I hope it runs again but not so early in the morning. Keep up the good work.
JL Laurence