| − | '''Corn''' (''Zea mays'') is a broad term that includes multiple types of grain. The everyday term of "corn" in the [[United States]] commonly refers to the subset that is more precisely (but archaically) referenced as "maize". "On average in the US, about 45 percent of corn [i.e., maize] is used for animal feed, 44 percent is turned into [[ethanol]], and only 10 percent is eaten. In fact, over one half of all the calories that we eat in the US come from corn ...."<ref>https://3quarksdaily.com/3quarksdaily/2022/11/the-mysterious-origin-of-corn.html</ref> | + | '''Corn''' (''Zea mays'') is a broad term that includes multiple types of grain. The everyday term of "corn" in the [[United States]] commonly refers to the subset that is more precisely (but archaically) referenced as "maize", which in [[Great Britain]] is called "Indian corn." Its uses today are incredible. "On average in the US, about 45 percent of corn [i.e., maize] is used for animal feed, 44 percent is turned into [[ethanol]], and only 10 percent is eaten. In fact, over one half of all the calories that we eat in the US come from corn ...."<ref>https://3quarksdaily.com/3quarksdaily/2022/11/the-mysterious-origin-of-corn.html</ref> Today "maize is likely to be found in over 1,000 products in a well-stocked U.S. supermarket."<ref>https://www.encyclopedia.com/food/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/natural-history-maize</ref> |
| − | Because of its tightly-packed kernels, corn [i.e., maize] is generally incapable of reproducing without human aid. | + | Because of its tightly-packed kernels, corn [i.e., maize] is generally incapable of reproducing without human aid and that it did not occur in the wild. But recent research shows that it existed by at least the 1500s in northern and southern Europe, and [[Aztec]] Indians felt it came from [[God]]. |
| | It can be grown for both a cash crop and nourishment for people and livestock. It is relatively high in protein and low in carbohydrates and fat, in part because corn is actually a grain rather than a vegetable.<ref name="H">https://theindianmed.com/10-health-benefits-of-corn-maize-nutrition-facts/</ref> Corn is also high in fiber, and rich "in potassium, iron, zinc, magnesium, phosphorus, and selenium";<ref name="H"/> corn further provides some vitamins A (in the form of beta carotene), C, and E, and folate.<ref name="H"/> | | It can be grown for both a cash crop and nourishment for people and livestock. It is relatively high in protein and low in carbohydrates and fat, in part because corn is actually a grain rather than a vegetable.<ref name="H">https://theindianmed.com/10-health-benefits-of-corn-maize-nutrition-facts/</ref> Corn is also high in fiber, and rich "in potassium, iron, zinc, magnesium, phosphorus, and selenium";<ref name="H"/> corn further provides some vitamins A (in the form of beta carotene), C, and E, and folate.<ref name="H"/> |