Corn : The New World Civilization

Maize is a wild plant and was discovered by Indians. It belongs to the same grass family as barley, rye, rice, wheat, and oats. When the Pilgrims landed in North America in 1620, the Indians gave them maize to eat. They also showed the Pilgrims how to grow maize. The Pilgrims called the maize “corn”, which mean grains and Americans still call it corn today. The word corn has a different meaning depending on what country you are in. According to the Department of Agronomy at Iowa State University, corn in England means wheat and in Scotland and Ireland, it means barley or oats (www.agron.iastate.edu).   By drawing on documents and reports from the Pre Columbian American era, I plan to discuss how corn was discovered, the importance of it, and how it was used by Pre Columbian Americans.

Many alterations have been applied to the area that corn is grown in. The main biome that corn is grown would be grasslands. Grasslands are an extremely important biome for producing food, it was shown that approximately 90% of the food produced today contains at least one of the fifteen species that are grown in grasslands. Unfortunately, for there to be enough space for corn to be grown and harvested, native grasses must be cleared, therefore having a devastating impact on the biome. Corn is known to be the most thirsty crop to be grown, taking up almost 7,000 to 8,000 gallons of water, draining countries, that don't receive as much rain, of their groundwater. Another impact on the environment of corn production would be the excessive use of fertilizers, this is due to the little nutrients returned back to the soil. As corn is mainly used for consumption, very little plant

First, the forced cultivation and consumption of corn on the Plains Natives had a negative impact on their health by limiting their diet in comparison to their ancestors. Utilizing Bioarcheology, historians and scientists have been able to examine the

Native Americans started the development of maize. In 1491 Mann says, “Indians developed an extraordinary number of maize varieties for different growing conditions, which meant that the crop could and did spread throughout the planet”(pg17). With the spread of maize the Indians caused several

Corn is not the ideal nutritious food. It wreaks havoc on the animal;s' digestive system and gets turned into sweeteners that makes people obese, aside from giving us an unhealthy diet. In other words, the industrial food chain that American man is sustained on is largely based on corn, whether in its direct form, fed to livestock, or processed into chemicals such as glucose, and the cheapest forms of these are high-fructose corn syrup and ethanol. The former, particularly, through a combination of biological, cultural, and political factors, appears in the cheapest and most common of foods that constitute the American diet. It is the ingredient that results in obesity, and, since it appears in the cheapest products, the ingredients that more poor, than wealthier individuals, consume.

Until the 19th century, the culinary tradition of the Brazilian Southeast was mostly influenced by the Portuguese cuisine and the food habits of the various Brazilian indigenous peoples and of the numerous African nations that were forcibly brought here by the slavery. After the arrive, in large numbers, of immigrants of many nationalities - such as Japanese, Lebanese, Italians, Spaniards and Germans there is a sudden and considerable increase in Brazilian gastronomic heterogeneity, especially in the city of São Paulo, at a reduced period of time.

In the educative essay “What’s Eating America,” Michael Pollan designates the history of corn, a good and healthy food if cultivated properly. This essay is very informative because it talks about American’s diet. In this essay, Pollan examines the way of growing the corn as an influential example of using the chemical fertilizers in food. Also, He complains “Growing corn, which from a biological perspective had always been a process of capturing sunlight to turn it into food, has in no small measure become a process of converting fossil fuels into food…” (Pollan 302). While it might be very useful when used in a prudent way, in reality the usage of chemical fertilizers is higher and the farmers are feeding their corps more than it needs which affect the ecology’s system. In other words, his focus is on corn and not only does him just points out corn presence in nearly all food products; but he comes up with other matters like fossil fuels and the factories polluting the atmosphere. Thus, it’s astonishing when someone stops and thinks about how many things are composed from corn.

Chapter one of The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan follows corn on its journey from acting as the primary crop of the Native Americans all the way to its introduction into the industrial setting. Pollan makes it explicitly clear that corn is in everything. Behind all the chemicals listed in the “ingredients” section on a product, consumers will find corn. Corn even plays a role in our chemical makeup. Because of corn’s ability to intake more carbon than most other plants, it does not have a preference over the carbon isotopes it consumes. By looking at the carbon isotope ratios in humans, we can determine how much corn one has eaten. Pollan states that corn’s variability is what makes it such an important crop. The European settlers

Mesoamerica had various influences on Native North America, corn being one of the most important and influential resources provided by Mesoamerica. Mesoamericans taught Native North Americans how to domesticate corn which essentially provided them an advantage in survival. Corn was used as a support system for Native North Americans providing them the ability to settle in one location and support themselves nutritionally. From the domestication of corn, Native North Americans could create and maintain large societies. Along with the domestication of corn, Native North Americans also implemented the Mesoamericans food sources in the way of domesticating beans, peanuts, squash, potatoes, and chocolate. Along with the adoption of food sources

Furthermore, corn is the number one GMO product. 88 percent of corn is GM. Genetically modifying corn was tested by a biotech company. It can be found at local food stores, farmers’ markets and farm stands. This was first attempted in 2011. Genetically modified corn can last longer and in a good condition. Genetically modified corn can withstand the weather and chemicals, for example, weed killers. This kind of corn can infect other crops that aren't genetically modified, which can then cause health problems. Even though the chemicals doesn't go inside the plant, it can still affect the

Here is how genetically modified corn is born. Scientists employed by the huge Agriculture industry decide that we need improved corn because bugs like corn too and farmers have to constantly apply pesticides - which is expensive and obviously not good for the environment or those eating the corn, right? So these scientists decide to create a fake corn and here is what they have done.

Genetically modified crops have been developed and harvested since 1996 on a wide scale in the world. Genetically modified crops are generally defined as the biotechnologically designed genes that are chosen and transferred from one organism to another, often unrelated, organism with the purpose to achieve certain results in harvest. According to Carton, Mochini, and Sheldon (2011), “[These] crops can survive under harsh conditions, costs are lowered, and yields are improved” (p. xxi). These crops are now widely grown worldwide. Naturally, corn is rooted in a 6000 year old history of South America (Wilkes,

GMOs have become embedded into our food system; however, this has not always been the case. The growth of genetically modified food can be traced back to prehistoric times. Selective breeding was used by farmers to choose the best plants and manipulate

Most cattle today are being fed genetically modified corn, thanks to the Monsanto Corporation. Monsanto Corporation has been feeding the world with its genetically engineered food crops for many years. In 2001, Monsanto's genetically modified crops accounted for 91% of the total area of genitcally modified crops planted worldwide. This resulted in Monsanto suing good farmers for 'copyright infringement.' Monsanto's crops would spread to neighborhood crops, and contaminate their vegetables

Corn, like several other types of crops, is part of the group of genetically modified crops with the intent to increase availability and production. However, several effects have also been cited, spurring consumers and other organizations to discourage people from ingesting these. The potential dangers can overwhelm the positive results in the long run, which is why you have to know more about these before health and environmental troubles begin.