Monica Staehle, Matt Moyer, and Dan Polatty

 Describes the curve of farmer’s growing debt as the produce more corn to cover for price drops. “It purports to show why falling farm prices force farmers to increase production in defiance of all rational economic behavior”

 Corn is in the majority of all edible and non- edible supermarket items.  “Forty-five thousand different items in the supermarket – seventeen thousand new ones every year”

 The McNugget has 13 out of 38 ingredients that can be derived from corn.  “McNuggets also contain several completely synthetic ingredients…not from a corn or soybean field but from a petroleum refinery or chemical plant.”

 Organic-made vegetables/farm-raised animals aren’t given corn-derived drugs for faster growth.  They’re fed natural grass, live cage-free, but prices for these natural foods/livestock are often higher.  They take longer to raise/grow, are drug-free and are healthier to consume without the growth drugs that cause health problems. “Mother earth never attempts to farm without live stock; she always raises mixed crops; great pains are taken to preserve the soil and to prevent erosion…both plants and animals are left to protect themselves from disease.”

Industrial  Annual species  Monoculture  Fossil energy  Global market  Specialized  Mechanical  Imported fertility  Myriad inputs Pastoral  Perennial species  Polyculture  Solar energy  Local market  Diversified  Biological  Local fertility  Chicken feed