The Corn Documentary Analysis

Corn is not the ideal nutritious food. It wreaks havoc on the animal;s' digestive system and gets turned into sweeteners that makes people obese, aside from giving us an unhealthy diet. In other words, the industrial food chain that American man is sustained on is largely based on corn, whether in its direct form, fed to livestock, or processed into chemicals such as glucose, and the cheapest forms of these are high-fructose corn syrup and ethanol. The former, particularly, through a combination of biological, cultural, and political factors, appears in the cheapest and most common of foods that constitute the American diet. It is the ingredient that results in obesity, and, since it appears in the cheapest products, the ingredients that more poor, than wealthier individuals, consume.

Many people who relied on their farm and on agriculture struggled in the 1980’s. WWII was the fire that lit the Farm Crisis of the 1980’s. WWII brought forth many new advances in all aspects of agriculture. New farm equipment, pesticides, seeds, and fertilizers made it easier for the everyday life of a farmer. Greater efficiency and productivity were the result of the new inventions. In the 1950’s and 1960’s there was a massive

The American farmer has consistently been ignored by past administrations much to their detriment. As President that will change, our nation will work hand in hand with the American farmer and we will ensure that there is a Secretary of Agriculture in place that is friendly to the needs of farmers across our country. In many ways the health of agriculture in the United States is a measure of the health of the country. And as we have allowed an influx of foreign goods into our markets it has created a competitive barrier that has made it difficult for farmers to compete. Foreign competition is of course a benefit to our economic progress as a nation and it is something that should be encouraged but in a sensible way that does not force our

Food Inc. : A Rhetorical Analysis Food Inc., a documentary film produced by Robert Kenner and based on Eric Schlosser's book Fast Food Nation, is designed to inform the American people of the food industry’s sinister side. The film paints the food industry in a more realistic light than the advertised and perceived image of an “Agrarian America.” Food Inc. not only uses compelling images, such as hundreds of baby chickens being raised in spaces no larger than a desk drawer, but also includes the voices and stories of farmers, businessmen and women, government officials, and victims of the food industry. As the film is being played, the audience sees the horrors and immorality of the food industry, feels disgust towards the unethical greed for wealth over safety of customers, shares in the helplessness of oppressed farmers, workers, and animals, finally feeling a sense of hope at the end where the film tells the audience they can vote for safer, better foods with what they decide to buy. Food Inc. effectively intertwines visual elements along with commentary, forging an ominous and foreboding image of the food industry that is furthered by its audio track and expert testimonies, creating a potent warning to the American consumer of the darker side within the food industry. In the opening moments of the film, images of corn and wheat fields spanning acres of land, along with a cattle rancher riding his horse among a magnificent grassy landscape surrounded by trees, are

Farm subsidies have become an somewhat debated topic in recent year, with increasing numbers of critics believing that these are detrimental not only to the economy, but also by implication to the health of Americans. Subsidies are offered by the USDA to farmers of commodity crops such as corn, wheat, rice, and livestock such as cattle. This makes these types of food cheaper than other, potentially healthier choices such as organic products. Farm subsidies were initially implemented after the Great Depression to help farmers cope with the economic effects after the Depression years. In other words, they were to stimulate the economy after the difficult years of the downturn. Although initially intended as a temporary measure, the subsidies remained part of the government assistance program for farmers even today. As a proponent of this system, my viewpoint is that farm subsidies ultimately benefits the United States in terms of protecting domestic product against foreign competition, national security, and American food aid to poorer countries.

This article is completely relevant to our current geography, living in Midwest means we are surrounded by flat land, perfect for farming. Many people that live in Illinois often make fun of the fact that farmland is all we have around us; no mountains, no volcanos, just corn. This article made me realize how truly important the conservation of the Midwest is for the production of the abundance of food we consume as Americans. Almost every food we consume can be traced back to the production of a single plant, corn. Many years ago farmers were producing an abundant amount causing the price of corn to plummet. This soon changed after farmers began processing. If human interaction causes corn to be scarce then it will have an unraveling effect

For my film analysis I selected the film, Food Incorporated. Food Incorporated, is a documentary about the awareness of the food consumed in everyday America. This documentary makes the clear thesis statement that what Americans consider to be food, is not actual food. In other words, the food most Americans consume are processed and artificial.

The Agriculture sector has changed monumentally over the past century in response to vast economic change and technological advancements. Farm subsidies are various forms of payments from the federal government put in place in an effort to stabilize prices, keep farmers in business, and ensure quality of crops. The federal government currently pays $20 billion in cash each year to US farmers and spent an estimated $250 billion between 1995-2005. Presently, a new farm bill is passed every five years

It relies heavily on expensive fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides. The cost of food could be significantly lower with the reduction of monocropping. Monocropping increases the cost of food by having a large area of land producing only one type of crop, this means that only that crop will be readily available in that area and all other produce will have to be shipped in. Monocropping is beneficial for the farmers growing heavily subsidized crops like corn, wheat, or soy. Farmers are able to turn a profit on commodity crops, no matter how much is bought and what price the crop is sold for. Farm subsidies are known to benefit the larger farms the most. Agricultural subsides inflate the price of farmland. Most US citizens don't see the true cost of their food, from 1995 to 2012 the US Government spent $18,563,609,563 on corn subsidies. The Government has spent $9,508,633,852 on wheat subsidies and $8,179,977,437 on soybeans. From 1995-2012 there has been $57,592,341,340 spend on food subsidies and there has been 35,789,071 policies passed regarding food subsides. The US population was 361.1 million people in 2012, in order to pay for the cost of the food subsides each person would need to pay $182.20, that number includes unemployed individuals, children, and those below the poverty line. In addition to the ludicrous amount of tax dollars spent on farm

There is a lot of speculation as to why this trend is happening, however the most common held belief is that there is no money in the agricultural industry and if you want to be successful you should look somewhere else. If we are to save America’s most important industry it starts with preparing now.

It was in 1826 when French physician and dietitian Anthelme Brillat-Savarin wrote, Dis-moi ce que tu manges, je te dirai ce que to es, “Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you what you are.”(Brillat-Savarin 1825) If this idea that we are what we eat is true when what we are as Americans living in the United States is corn. Corn is the largest commodity crop grown in the U.S., it is turned into the cheapest and most consumed sweetener, high fructose corn syrup, it finds its way into 75% of the products in the average grocery store, and unlike its ancestor from southern Mexico the corn we grow today has close to zero nutritional value. It is estimated by the National Corn Growers Association that the average American consumes 25 pounds of corn each year. When one thinks about corn consumption, they tend to think about products such as sweet corn, corn flakes, popcorn, or corn oil. (National Corn Growers Association) However corn is found in many more products such as, soda, candy, breakfast cereals, yogurt, sauces, beef, chips and pretty much anything else you can find that is both sweet and cheap. The hidden corn in our diet leaves the uniformed consumer at risk of serious health issues. The large scale of corn production in the United States directly correlates with the unhealthy eating habits and the alarming percentage of obesity in America. Corn is in nearly everything we eat and we don't even know about it.

My friends, I would to take a few minutes to discuss agriculture in this great nation. It has been 14 years since we have heard the cannons boom from Great War, and since then economic stability of our nation has no doubt stumbled on distress. For all the farmers listening, I speak for the people of the United States when I say thank you greatly for the enormous contributions you made to the war effort. You produced a record amount of crops and livestock, all of which aided the men fighting in Europe and the people at home. While the end of the war marked the beginning of a new era, life on the farm began to deteriorate. During the 20s we saw farm and crop prices drop so low. We saw farmers overproducing to pay for their lifestyle and

I came to realize that almost all the American food diet is now Corn based. There has been change in the grocery store prices in past 30 years. It’s because food prices

In the article Farmer’s Market Values by Mark Bittman, published by The New York Times in August 2014 indicates that “Farmers’ markets are not just markets. They’re educational systems that teach us how food is raised and why that matters.” When purchasing from a supermarket no one really know where the fruit or vegetable came from. Agricultural consumer can ask how the they farmer grew the crop. Therefore, getting to know your farmer is the only way on getting to know your food. A tomato at a farmer’s market cost $6 a pound, you might have notice a tomato in the supermarket cost $4 the pound. The difference between tomato is not only the price but the explosive flavor the surges through your mouth. In other words, the tomatoes from the farmers market might cost a little bit more, but you can be guaranteed that those tomatoes are the most flavorful tomatoes you have ever purchased.(figure1)It’s not about the quantity but the quality of the crop. Having the investment into the crops farmers desperately need they will keep their farms afloat. As a result of keeping their farms afloat farmers will not have to pursue on having a second job. Farmers will once again will just be farmers growing their beloved

The agriculture field is one of the biggest employers, employing over 155 million people in the United States. What do you think about when you hear the word “agriculture?” Many people would say farming, but this is not the most common occupation in this field. Farmers make up a fraction of the agricultural jobs at 900,000, but over 2.1 million people own, rent, and claim farming as a primary source of income. The average farm size has dropped from 460 acres in 1990 to 418 acres in 2007, while the average age of this occupation rose to 57, making this one of the older workforces in the United States.