King Corn is a feature documentary about two friends, one acre of corn, and the subsidized crop that drives our fast-food nation. In the film, Ian Cheney and Curt Ellis, best friends from college on the east coast, move to the heartland to learn where their food comes from. With the help of friendly neighbors, genetically modified seeds, and powerful herbicides, they plant and grow a bumper crop of America’s most-productive, most-subsidized grain on one acre of Iowa soil. But when they try to follow their pile of corn into the food system, what they find raises troubling questions about how we eat—and how we farm.

ABOUT THE FILMMAKER

Aaron Woolf is a New York-based filmmaker. In addition to directing and producing the Peabody Award-winning 2007 exposé King Corn, Woolf has produced numerous long form documentaries for PBS, Sundance Channel and Discovery including Greener Grass, Dying to Leave, and Beyond the Motor City. He is currently developing Carpe Millennium, a web-based documentary project designed to encourage a new era of long-term thinking in America.

 

Ian Cheney is a Brooklyn-based filmmaker. Raised in New England, he co-created the Peabody Award-winning King Corn, and directed The Greening of Southie, Truck Farm, and The City Dark. He is currently at work on Bluespace, a film about urban waterways, and The Search for General Tso, a short documentary about Chinese food in America.

INSPIRED? TAKE ACTION!

• Speak up about the Farm Bill. Call your Congressperson and tell them you want the 2012 Farm Bill to support sustainable, healthful food and farming practices.
• Plant a garden. Growing your own food is a great way to help create a more healthful food system, today!
• Read your labels. Knowing what your food is made of is a great first step towards a more nutritious diet.
• Know your farmer. Getting a better handle on where your food comes from will make you a more conscientious consumer.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

• Americans now spend a smaller percentage of their income on food than ever before – on average, less than 10% of their disposable income. What are some of the benefits and drawbacks of having cheap food available?
• Are you comfortable having your tax dollars support the farming practices and resulting food culture depicted in the film? Why or why not?
• Prior to viewing King Corn, what images came to mind when you thought about farms or farming? Did the images in the film confirm or challenge your thoughts about farms or farming? What did you learn from the film about current farming practices?
• What recommendations would you make to preserve or improve public health?
• What role does the family farm play in America’s perception of itself? What does it mean for the US that the family farm is giving way to industrial or factory farming? What could reverse that trend?