King Corn is a feature documentary about two friends, one acre of corn, and the subsidized crop that drives our fast-food nation.
In King Corn, Ian Cheney and Curt Ellis, best friends from college on the east coast, move to the heartland to learn where their food comes from. With the help of friendly neighbors, genetically modified seeds, and powerful herbicides, they plant and grow a bumper crop of America’s most-productive, most-subsidized grain on one acre of Iowa soil. But when they try to follow their pile of corn into the food system, what they find raises troubling questions about how we eat—and how we farm.
Learn more about the film and join the discussion on Independent Lens.
Explore the Film
Eating Challenge
Could you not eat any food touched by corn for a whole month? Take the challenge and read how others fared! Continue
Corny Corn Maze
Travel through an interactive maze to get an earful of corn facts and more. Are you ready to stalk around? Continue
Want to be a Corn Farmer?
See how corn farming has changed and try your hand at the cornulator. Learn some history about the corn industry and find resources. Continue
Corn Alternatives
Find ways around high-fructose corn syrup and fatty burgers. Corn may seem impossible to avoid, but there are other options. Continue
