In class, everything we have been reading or watching has somehow made an argument toward us. In order for us to believe the arguments being made, facts or evidence are needed to support the claims. The common general theme of claims being made, is that the over-production of corn is hurting Americans. Michael Pollen and the movie King Corn both make this argument and the reason they are so successful at getting their point across is their use of evidence and facts to back their claims up. They use actual numbers to show how corn-fed animals are worse for us than naturally grazing cattle, how we can get more calories from chips and cookies than carrots for the same amount of money, and how much corn is actually produced every year and how much corn we actually need. By providing this evidence they are making a their argument a factual one. If they tried to make this argument without using numbers and facts, I would be less likely to believe it so easily. Before the readings from this class, I never knew how big of a detriment corn was to our society. Not only is it harming humans diet, it is also hurting the environment. I am forced to believe this when I watch King Corn and read Michael Pollen’s words as they go into such detail about the corn process and about the farm bill. I always thought corn was just a vegetable that I ate at dinner on occasion, I never knew what all corn was going into.
Thanks to the evidence provided in all the readings we have done, I am forced to acknowledge all that growing corn entails. If I heard the claims being made before, there is no way that I would believe them. Now, knowing all the background information on corn and what it is going into; there is no doubt that the claims being made are true. The farm bill is something that needs to be changed. These arguments need to continue to be brought to peoples attention with factual evidence and then people will be forced to take a stand. Michael Pollen and the men from King Corn have made me more aware and it is only time until all of America is aware of the problem over-producing corn presents.
