Food System

Submitted by: Mr. DENNIS C. CASING (SN: 0492280687)

Submitted to: Prof. Dr. SHUJI HISANO

Comparative Industry Policy Studies

Graduate School of Economics, Kyoto University

ESSAY: KING CORN and FOOD, INC.

1. Documentary I: KING CORN

The documentary film, King Corn, brings us to a journey of two friends who moved to Iowa to grow an acre of corn, and ended up discovering more about the dynamics on how corn is produced, manufactured into other food products, and how all these are consumed by people.

1. US Farm Subsidy Program

As explained in the film, corn is one of the agricultural commodities that are heavily subsidized by the US government. It is used to supplement the income of farmers and make up for their initial output cost, among its other purposes. For these reasons, farmers tend to plant plenty of them to the point that grain elevators overflow and cannot be able to accommodate more corn. The film ultimately highlights how government subsidies actually encourage overproduction of corn.

Moreover, farm subsidy system puts an end to the more traditional farming of past generations. The two filmmakers decided to grow an acre of corn, but actual farming is minimal. Corn kernels are genetically modified, powerful fertilizers are used, and strong herbicides are sprayed to kill weeds, generating more yield in less time.

Even though their final calculation suggests that they have a net loss, government subsidies made up for this. Iowa, as explained in the film, continues to grow bushels of corn (which are turned into ethanol, fructose syrup, or animal feeds) because it continues to receive government subsidies.

1. Monoculture Farming

Since growing corn is cheap, and government subsidy is high for this specific crop, monoculture farming is still being practiced. As shown in the film, cultivating a single type of crop means providing only the needs of a single species which requires a single harvesting method. For farmers, this means less cost, more yield, and more profit.

However, in the discussion in environmental management, monoculture agriculture is something that is met with much criticism. According to the Union of Concerned Scientists (www.ucsusa.org), “monoculture farming relies heavily on chemical inputs such as synthetic fertilizers and pesticides.” This implies that planting the same crop in the same place every time removes the nutrients in the soil making it weak and unhealthy for farming. Hence, chemical fertilizers are introduced. In the film, it was shown that only corn is being grown in acres of acres of land in Iowa.