King Corn

Last night, I sat flipping through the guide for the Green Festival in preparation for this weekend. Since I’ll be busy on Saturday at the H.O.P.E. Conference, I wanted to make the most of my Sunday at the Green Festival by reading about some of the 350 exhibits and over 125 fantastic speakers.

In planning out my Sunday to take advantage of the most speakers and movies I could, I was excited to see that the documentary, King Corn, would be showing at 2:00pm in room 5 thanks to the Hazel Wolf Environmental Film Network. Last fall, I went to a showing of King Corn with my housemates. This documentary tells the story of two young men who return to their family’s roots of rural Iowa to track the journey of one acre of corn from seed to our dinner plates. Along the way, they learn the skills to farm America’s most subsidized crop, connect with their roots, and share how corn became one of this nation’s cheapest foods.

This documentary stirred something within me—this farmer’s daughter from rural Minnesota who’s been transplanted into one of the nation’s greenest cities. I found myself feeling nostalgic over the stark beauty of the Midwest, laughing at small-town dynamics, and amazed by our nation’s food subsidies. If you find yourself at the Green Festival on Sunday, I’d definitely recommend taking the time to check out the film festival going on in Room 5 at 2:00pm.