Ken and Anita
From the series "Monsanto"

The "Monsanto" series was created during an artist’s residency at the Forum for Contemporary Art in Saint Louis, Missouri, where photographer Julie Moos encountered an agricultural community in the state producing genetically modified organisms (GMOs) for the local branch of the Monsanto Company. Moos’ portraiture usually focuses on the relationships between the individuals portrayed, but here she includes the connections to their surroundings as well, presenting family pairs of Midwestern American farmers posing in front of, or in, their fields. Moos suggests that their impassive expressions may stem from the discomfort of working with GMOs, but she avoids the controversy surrounding genetic engineering and features her subjects neutrally. Regardless, the oversized field of corn behind father and daughter in Ken and Anita highlights the debate, prompting us to consider the dangers of eating GMO foods and the damage their production causes to the environment.