King Corn on PBS

Where did I hear about this? I don't remember. In any event, I'm always interested in hearing about our food supply and such. I have several posts I'm "working on," but to be honest, I have so much information that I just haven't had time to put together a post I'm happy with. It's such an important topic that I really feel I have to do it justice.

That said, King Corn will be airing on PBS this month on a series called Independent Lens.

The website summarizes it like so:

"Two recent college grads discover where America's food comes from when they plant a single acre of corn and follow it from the seed to the dinner plate.

With the help of government subsidies, genetically modified seeds and powerful herbicides, America's most-subsidized crop becomes the staple of its cheapest -- and most troubling -- foods."

And an interview with Michael Pollan from the documentary:

"'Everything on your plate is corn,' Michael Pollan says in KING CORN. The author of In Defense of Food (Penguin, 2008) and The Omnivore’s Dilemma (Penguin, 2006), Pollan can be credited for publicizing the “cornification of America” and the hidden relationships between corn, public health and agricultural policy.

Exposing just how much the industrial food chain accounts for the American diet, Pollan’s writing agitates for a return to actual food—not the highly processed fast food that’s sold these days. But what’s the alternative? Pollan’s answer boils down to seven words: Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants."