King Corn

Feeding corn to cattle, according to Loren Cordain, PhD from the University of Colorado, also produces a much higher level of saturated fat in the meat. “A corn-fed steak may have as much as 9g of saturated fat, where a grass-fed steak would have 1.3 grams. This is the meat we eat in America. Hamburger meat is fat disguised as meat,” said Cordain.

The other factor the documentary focused on as it relates to our health, aside from corn-fed animals, is the mass production of high fructose corn syrup. Corn syrup is in nearly every fast food and processed food in America, and leads to obesity, type 2 diabetes, and has adverse metabolic effects. Soda is basically liquid corn syrup. “We’ve degraded our food supply,” said Walter Willett from Harvard University.

It’s all based on profit and efficiency, to produce the highest amount of corn possible. Even the farmers understand that they aren’t growing real food. They don’t eat the corn they grow.

One farmer said, “We’re not growing quality. We’re growing crap. The poorest quality crap the world’s ever seen. I don’t grow my corn for food. I don’t care what’s done with it. I’m selling it.”

At the end of the documentary, one thing was abundantly clear. Industrialized agriculture equals cheap, low-quality food that weakens our health.

Food for thought, right?

If you’re interested in learning more about this topic or finding out how you can get involved, check out the King Corn site.

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