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[[Image:Peruvian Corn.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Dried corn from [[Peru]]]]

[[Image:Peruvian Corn.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Dried corn from [[Peru]]]]

'''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>

'''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."   

 

Corn is a very efficient crop in its use of scarce [[water]], requiring significantly less water than rice, wheat, cotton, soybean, and sugarcane.<ref>https://www.agremo.com/water-usage-in-agriculture/#:~:text=Water%20use%20by%20crop%20type,and%20sunflower%20require%20less%20water.</ref>  In addition, the many uses of corn 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 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]].

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]].

''Field corn'' varieties are grown primarily for livestock feed. Varieties grown for human consumption contain a gene that increases the sugar content and are known as ''sweet corn.''  

''Field corn'' varieties are grown primarily for livestock feed. Varieties grown for human consumption contain a gene that increases the sugar content and are known as ''sweet corn.''  

In 1983, [[Barbara McClintock]] won the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for studies of the genetics of corn, specifically her 1948 discovery of mobile genetic elements in the corn genome. In 2016, an article entitled "Genome Sequence of a 5,310-Year-Old Maize Cob Provides Insights into the Early Stages of Maize Domestication" yielded more insights.<ref>https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(16)31120-4?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS0960982216311204%3Fshowall%3Dtrue</ref>

In 1983, Barbara McClintock won the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for studies of the genetics of corn, specifically her 1948 discovery of mobile genetic elements in the corn genome. In 2016, an article entitled "Genome Sequence of a 5,310-Year-Old Maize Cob Provides Insights into the Early Stages of Maize Domestication" yielded more insights.<ref>https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(16)31120-4?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS0960982216311204%3Fshowall%3Dtrue</ref>

In recent years, Monsanto produced and began selling corn seed which has undergone artificial genetic modification.  This corn is advertized to grow better, resist disease, and resist Glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto's Round-Up and other herbicides. [[Genetic Engineering|Genetically modified]] corn is estimated to account for at least 90% of the American corn market today.

In recent years, Monsanto produced and began selling corn seed which has undergone artificial genetic modification.  This corn is advertized to grow better, resist disease, and resist Glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto's Round-Up and other herbicides. [[Genetic Engineering|Genetically modified]] corn is estimated to account for at least 90% of the American corn market today.

[[category:Fruits]]

[[category:Fruits]]

[[Category:Vegetables]]

[[Category:Vegetables]]