After Judith Dierkes’ watched The Future of Food, a
documentary about genetically modified food, she decided to spread the
message.
To do so, she transformed her white Subaru station wagon into a
traveling corn on the cob. She painted yellow kernels on the front of
the car and a green husk around the back. She even covered the seats in
yellow fabric and painted the inside yellow and green.
“I see a lot of people with cell phones taking pictures,” she said.
“I have yellow pieces of paper — my kernels of truth — that
are cut in the shape of corn to hand out to [people who] ask about the
car. It gives me an opportunity to share my thoughts about [genetically
modified corn].”
Because corn is pollinated by the wind, genetically modified corn
can “infect” other corn crops. Dierkes thinks the agricultural company
Monsanto eventually will put small farms out of business. She also
believes that genetically modified corn has contributed to a rise in
childhood diabetes.
In what she calls her “a-maize-ing” Subaru, Dierkes is a one-car
parade. She plays “You Don’t Own Me” by Lesley Gore and wears yellow
loafers, yellow pants, and a green sweatshirt.
“Corn is in everything. And to think that we have this contaminated
product?” she said. “Monsanto’s genetically modified corn is infecting
other corn.”
