King Corn is a feature length documentary film about two friends, one acre of corn and the pervasive and universal reach of the US corn industry.

In a refreshing “fish out of water” story, Ian Cheney and Curt Ellis, both Boston city boys and recent Yale graduates, move to the American heartland state of Iowa to learn where their food comes from. Hooking up with their new found farmer neighbors, they acquire some genetically modified corn seeds, sign up for subsidies, apply ammonia fertilizer and herbicides. They eventually harvest a 10,000 pound bumper crop of America’s most-productive grain on only one acre of soil. Then they try to follow their pile of corn into the food system.

The film establishes that almost everything North Americans eat contains corn. High fructose corn syrup, corn-fed meat, and corn-based processed foods are the staples of the modern American diet, however such a diet does not promote sustainable living. Corn is cheap and plentiful and powerful interests ensure it stays that way. Obesity, Type II diabetes and a heavy tax bill to ensure perennial overproduction are only some of the consequences.

As always, you are what you eat. King Corn has only seen limited release in the USA and we are hoping that it will come to Canadian screens in 2008. Keep an eye peeled on the website for dates.
www.kingcorn.net