Farmers say they'll grow 8 percent less corn this year. It may seem like a small number, but it could drive up the prices of things you didn't even know had corn in them. We look to see where corn is on the shelf, and how much the price has jumped.
Takeaway facts:
- Corn and its byproducts can be found in salad dressings, kitty litter and postage stamp adhesives.
- The cost of produce has been giving our local grocer in Manhattan the biggest sticker shock.
Guest(s):
- Curt Ellis, filmmaker of the documentary, "King Corn."
- Robert Sayge, manager of Bell Bates Grocery in Manhattan, N.Y.
Comments [3]
PS - A good thing to read - a fabulous read, no chore - is Michael Pollan's "The Omnivore's Dilemma" - you get a well-researched, beautifully written picture of where our food goes before it lands on the table. We deserve the choice not to support factory farming and cruelty to livestock, which are also unhealthy for us.
I was furious when I woke up Monday and had to listen to banter about the NFL! What have you done! But today you redeemed yourselves with the farm bill story. If you are going to keep talking to this Iowan farmer, can you tell him for me (but this isn't a plug, not meant for the airwaves) that there is a farm-to-consumer legal defense fund to support small farmers and the consumers who want to buy directly from them. As Ruth Reichl said, (paraphrase) you are voting whenever you put something into your shopping cart. We deserve the option to vote for small farmers!
"JULY 4, 2007: LEGAL DEFENSE FUND TO DEFEND DIRECT FARM SALES
Washington, DC: Small farmers – and the consumers who support them – celebrated the Fourth of July with the launch of the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund. The non-profit organization was founded to protect the rights of farmers to provide meat, eggs, raw dairy products, vegetables and other foods directly to consumers. Go to www.farmtoconsumer.org to learn more."
Thank you for this story and the piece on the farm
bill. Tuning in for the first time yesterday morning to your show- before coffee- was a bit of a shock. Glad to report that I'm getting over it. Your program is crisp, interesting, informative and, as any social studies teacher would agree, very useful. Best of luck.
Robert Donnelly
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