Comments on: King Corn Film Review

By: McFly

McFly — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 18:49:45 +0000

Mark and Scott, that’s wild stuff! Thanks for the info. Can we do this with other food products, or is corn pretty much the only food that fixes C13 at a different rate?

I’d love to know how much of my body is made of tacos. (corn+beef+lettuce+cheddar+tomato+awesome secret salsa)

By: Mark Sisson

Mark Sisson — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 18:24:45 +0000

McFly,

Cells in our body are constantly dividing and creating cells. The raw material for those cells at the most basic level would be the carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, hydrogen etc we get from food we eat. Turns out that corn “fixes” an isotope of carbon (C13) at a different rate from the rest of “average” nature. So when we use mass spectrometry to analyze DNA and we find a corresponding difference in C13 in the DNA, we can imply that that carbon came from corn. If the carbon from corn is now identified as the source of carbon in molecules, we can also assume the other elements are likely from corn as well.

By: Sara

Sara — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 18:05:43 +0000

And let’s not forget that only half your grains need to be whole. Which means your other half can come from refined grains and you’ll still be in line with the government’s nutrition recommendations!

By: Scott Kustes

Scott Kustes — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 17:56:48 +0000

I’ll check this our for sure. It sounds strikingly similar to Michael Pollan’s description of the industrial agriculture setup in The Omnivore’s Dilemma. One of the chapters contains some equally appalling statistics. The government subsidy of corn is why high-fructose corn syrup is so prevalent and why so many people are getting fat and fatter.

McFly, Michael Pollan goes into this. Corn has a unique chemical structure (as does everything else you eat) that leaves a tell-tale carbon imprint on your DNA/chemical composition. They can break that down to look at those carbon imprints and see where the majority of the carbon in your body has come from. Because so many Americans eat animals fattened on corn, corn chips, corn muffins, corn bread, corn, corn oil, corn sweetener, and corn everything else, the body literally has an overwhelming carbon imprint from corn.

Scott Kustes
Modern Forager

By: Crystal

Crystal — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 17:56:38 +0000

It’s going to make some people mad, but I’m going to enjoy it. Had this discussion yesterday. People who can’t handle gluten, sometimes eat a lot of corn….because you can’t go a whole day without grain, that would be weird.

By: Mike Drew

Mike Drew — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 17:43:03 +0000

I can’t wait to see this movie! I first found out about corn’s insidious presence in much of the American diet when I read Michael Pollan’s “The Omnivore’s Dilemma.” It’s amazing how much of the food, beverages and products we buy contain corn derivatives. It’s everywhere!