One Nation Under Corn?
A position paper done in fall of 2012 on the cause and affect of the industrialized corn crop. I decided on this subject after my own battle with illness. This battle, ended up changing my diet, and my life as it turns out. I have almost completely removed any corn derived product from my life (all-be-it difficult sometimes) and am a proponent of a purely organic vegetarian diet.
One Nation Under Corn?
Chad Cribb
DeVry University
One Nation Under Corn
One of the many freedoms we enjoy in this great country is the freedom to choose what you will eat and when you will eat it. Pull up to your favorite fast food burger restaurant, and little thought goes into the entire process. From the drive there, to the ordering of your food, and the packaging they are contained in. When we think more about it, as Michael Pollan did in his book, “The Omnivore’s Dilemma”, there is a whole lot more going on. Pollan dives deep into the heart of our nation’s fascination with the corn crop and its many uses. Corn started out as a crop grown to feed its people. But in this day and age, very little is actually eaten. Corn has become a giant in the food industry, at a low price; thanks in part to the government help. We started this nation as one based in principle and in the pursuit of freedom….and now it seems… corn. But who is the real beneficiary of this corn crop? And just as important…who are the losers?
Corn has been around since recorded history and has played a major role in trade and many complex social societies. Corn’s spread across the globe began after contact between the European colonial powers and indigenous peoples of North and South America. It continued on to Africa during the slave trades and was used to actually pay for them. What’s more, it was a source of power for the African middlemen involved in the slave trade. Fast forward now to the 1940’s and 1950’s as corn and corn based foods
One Nation Under Corn?
Chad Cribb
DeVry University
One Nation Under Corn
One of the many freedoms we enjoy in this great country is the freedom to choose what you will eat and when you will eat it. Pull up to your favorite fast food burger restaurant, and little thought goes into the entire process. From the drive there, to the ordering of your food, and the packaging they are contained in. When we think more about it, as Michael Pollan did in his book, “The Omnivore’s Dilemma”, there is a whole lot more going on. Pollan dives deep into the heart of our nation’s fascination with the corn crop and its many uses. Corn started out as a crop grown to feed its people. But in this day and age, very little is actually eaten. Corn has become a giant in the food industry, at a low price; thanks in part to the government help. We started this nation as one based in principle and in the pursuit of freedom….and now it seems… corn. But who is the real beneficiary of this corn crop? And just as important…who are the losers?
Corn has been around since recorded history and has played a major role in trade and many complex social societies. Corn’s spread across the globe began after contact between the European colonial powers and indigenous peoples of North and South America. It continued on to Africa during the slave trades and was used to actually pay for them. What’s more, it was a source of power for the African middlemen involved in the slave trade. Fast forward now to the 1940’s and 1950’s as corn and corn based foods