by Allison Prater |
Zea Maize, the giant tropical grass more commonly known as corn, is currently the dominant species found in our western industrialized food system.
Domesticated by the indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica, corn was first cultivated by the Aztec and Mayan peoples. Between 1250 A.D and 1700 A.D, the crop spread over the North American Continent. A valuable trade asset, corn kernels were carried back to Europe in the late 16th century. Today, corn is grown on every continent in the world, with the exception of Antarctica.
Americans grow about 332 million metric tons of corn annually, 80 percent of which is genetically modified to exhibit agronomical desirable traits, notably resistance to herbicides and insect pests. Corn is the top crop for agriculture subsidy payments. About 60 percent of the corn grown in the U.S. is fed to livestock.
Of the 45,000 items in the average American supermarket, almost one third of them contain some form of corn. Michael Pollan observed the prevalence of corn within our food system, in his book, “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” and he reports that, “the great edifice of variety and choice that is an American supermarket rests on a remarkably narrow biological foundation: corn. It’s not merely the feed that the steers and the chickens and the pigs and the turkeys ate; it’s not just the source of the flour and the oil and the leavenings, the glycerides and coloring in the processed foods; it’s not just sweetening the soft drinks or lending a shine to the magazine cover over by the checkout. The supermarket itself–the wallboard and joint compound, the linoleum and fiberglass and adhesives out of which the building itself has been built–is in no small measure a manifestation of corn.”
What are the consequences of allowing one crop to dominate our nation’s farm lands and food supply? What is the over-consumption of this grain doing to our bodies, to our planet? How did we come to be so dependent on one plant?
In many ways the jump in corn production can be traced to the post World War II era. In 1947, a munitions plant in Muscle Shoals, Alabama found themselves with a surplus of ammonium nitrate, a principle ingredient in the making of explosives. This chemical also happened to be a source of nitrogen for plants, and so the surplus was used as a chemical fertilizer. Corn, a crop that is highly dependent on nitrogen rich soil, saw its yield explode.
High fructose corn syrup was developed as a cheap alternative to sugar. Today this highly processed sweetener can be found in most soft drinks, juices and processed foods. The rise in consumption of high fructose corn syrup, parallels the rise in Type II diabetes, which has sky rocketed in the last 20 years. In the book, “There is a Cure for Diabetes”, Gabriel Cousens MD points out that, “Corn Syrup has been singled out by many health experts as one of the chief culprits of rising obesity, because corn syrup does not turn off the appetite. Since the advent of corn syrup, consumption of all sweeteners has soared, as have people’s weight.”
In the past we have seen that over-dependence on corn has had a negative effect on public health in the US. In the late 19th century, over-consumption of corn, led to an epidemic of pellagra, characterized by a deficiency of niacin and key amino acids. Today, children in many low income neighborhoods are being diagnosed with rickets, a severe vitamin D deficiency. Many of these children also happen to be obese. The resurgence of a disease, we thought we had overcome in the past, can in part be attributed to the fact that it is less expensive for low income families to consume sodas and juices containing high fructose corn syrup, than it is for them to drink milk.
The use of corn as animal feed is also linked to negative effects on our health. For instance, cows have traditionally grazed on grass and are not able to digest the corn they are fed. This increases the amount of methane gas that they produce. On a global level, more greenhouse gasses come from feedlots than from automobile exhaust. Cows fed on corn also need to be fed more antibiotics and supplemental proteins in order to keep them alive. Their meat is higher in saturated fat, nearly twice as much as the meat from a grass-fed steer.
Ecologically speaking, the practice of mono-cropping is having a devastating effect on the soil and water. Each year, the nitrogen used to fertilize corn, leaches from Midwest croplands into the Mississippi River and out into the Gulf of Mexico. This fertilizer is killing everything from algae to sea life, creating what is known as “the dead zone,” which extends through Alabama and Texas, a total area that is roughly the size of the state of New Jersey, and it continues to grow.
There are several things you can do to be an ethical corn consumer. If you are going to eat corn, eat organic corn, as close to its natural form as possible. For example, corn meal is OK, pop corn is OK; corn oil, corn syrup, not so much. Speaking of which, avoid all food products that contain high fructose corn syrup, or other corn derived food additives.
If you eat meat, choose grass fed, it tastes better, is better for you and better for the planet. Avoid pet food products that contain corn, as cats and dogs do not have an easy time digesting corn either. It can cause bladder infections and kidney troubles in your furry friends. If possible, buy corn from local farmers. Better yet, grow some in your own back yard. Choose heirloom varieties, such as blue corn, increasing bio-diversity. We have the power to create change both with our dollars and dinner forks.
References:
- Pollan, Michael, The Omnivore’s Dilema, Penguin Press, New York, 2006
- Cousens, Gabriel, MD, There is a Cure of Diabetes, North Atlantic Books, California, 2008
- www.wikipedia.org
- Pollan, Michael, “What’s Eating America,” www.smithsonianmag.com/archives, June 15, 2006
