Comments on: Comments on 18570

Post number 18570

PrinceValium — Fri, 19 Jul 2002 12:22:16 -0800

Corn: Planted over patches of American soil totalling twice the size of New York state, corn is our national symbol of agricultural dominance, writes Botany of Desire author Michael Pollan in the NYTimes. But its proliferation may be to blame for some of the most socially and environmentally damaging food products of the last 20 years.

Plus, since the market price for corn is $1 less per bushel than its production cost, you're not only paying the price of obesity, malnutrition, and environmental damage, you're paying, well, $1 a bushel in taxpayer-supported government subsidies.

Lunch?

By: scarabic

scarabic — Fri, 19 Jul 2002 12:24:50 -0800

Thanks, but I had a big breakfast of corn smut.

By: PinkStainlessTail

PinkStainlessTail — Fri, 19 Jul 2002 12:33:35 -0800

Yikes. Luckily, Quorn is safe. Isn't it?

By: TBoneMcCool

TBoneMcCool — Fri, 19 Jul 2002 12:38:42 -0800

Keep track of the evil plant's progress.

By: dorian

dorian — Fri, 19 Jul 2002 12:40:57 -0800

be like the cool kids, link to NYT this way.

By: Shadowkeeper

Shadowkeeper — Fri, 19 Jul 2002 12:41:09 -0800

That's a-maize-ing. Welcome to the World of Corn!

By: banished

banished — Fri, 19 Jul 2002 12:45:05 -0800

Worldcorn... sounds like they will go bankrupt.

By: vacapinta

vacapinta — Fri, 19 Jul 2002 12:48:32 -0800

Our entire food supply has undergone a process of "cornification" in recent years, without our even noticing it. That's because, unlike in Mexico, where a corn-based diet has been the norm for centuries, in the United States most of the corn we consume is invisible, having been heavily processed or passed through food animals before it reaches us. Exactly. Mexicans even drink corn. So, why is this bad for the rest of the world again? I doubt humans were evolved to eat the amount of grains (wheat, rice, etc.) that we currently consume, or any domesticated plant/animal for that matter.

By: PrinceValium

PrinceValium — Fri, 19 Jul 2002 12:58:37 -0800

So, why is this bad for the rest of the world again? The processing, not the raw materials, produces what are essentially consumable byproducts. Corn syrup is pound for pound cheaper than refined white sugar, but the plant is not meant to be consumed in that way. We are letting basic capitalist principles and bad government policy turn good food into bad product. A hypothetical: Would you consider a person who eats a pound of celery every day to be doing something healthy? Sure, it's a healthy food. What about someone who eats a pound of those little stringy things on the outside of celery stalks, that have been mulched beyond recognition and chemically liquefied?

By: ColdChef

ColdChef — Fri, 19 Jul 2002 13:02:21 -0800

Keep track of the evil plant's progress. Why, that's as high as an elephant's eye!

By: jaek

jaek — Fri, 19 Jul 2002 13:09:18 -0800

but the plant is not meant to be consumed in that way. Who didn't mean for us to consume corn in that way? God?

By: PrinceValium

PrinceValium — Fri, 19 Jul 2002 13:15:35 -0800

Who didn't mean for us to consume corn in that way? God? No, but you're close..

By: panopticon

panopticon — Fri, 19 Jul 2002 13:31:28 -0800

How about corn ice cream?

By: vacapinta

vacapinta — Fri, 19 Jul 2002 13:31:49 -0800

PrinceValium: Seriously. The human diet changed radically with the rise of agriculture. And if we go back even farther we can engage in a debate about whether cooked food is bad for you. What exactly is natural? We eat lots of things that humans were not meant to eat. Who knows, perhaps our diet should consist of raw meat and fruit? Its passages like this that undermine the author's credibility: It's probably no coincidence that the wholesale switch to corn sweeteners in the 1980's marks the beginning of the epidemic of obesity and Type 2 diabetes in this country It's probably no coincidence... = I am about to engage in wholesale speculation

By: andrew cooke

andrew cooke — Fri, 19 Jul 2002 13:42:26 -0800

Is there a drink made from fermented corn? My partner asked me this the other day and I couldn't think of one. It seems like the other dominant sources of carbs have become traditional drinks in the cultures where they dominate: potatoes make vodka, rye makes bourbon (I think), wheat makes whisky, rice makes sake, but what do we get from corn?

By: jaek

jaek — Fri, 19 Jul 2002 13:44:20 -0800

vacapinta - actually there was an article in the New York Times magazine a while back that did tie a change in our diet in the early 80's with the rise in obesity - he fingered the switch to "fat is bad" which naturally lead to more processed foods and higher carbohydrate consumption. Look the archives of Metafilter two sundays ago... I think the FPP title was something like "fat or carbs" andrew cooke: fermented corn syrup is used in most every low-grade alcoholic beverage to save money - cheap tequila, vodka, beer, whatever.

By: shagoth

shagoth — Fri, 19 Jul 2002 13:57:03 -0800

Is there a drink made from fermented corn? Bourbon is made from at least 51% corn.

By: vacapinta

vacapinta — Fri, 19 Jul 2002 13:59:27 -0800

jaek, you're right (though what has caused the rise in obesity remains highly controversial). I still think he's playing fast and loose with some facts but then I realized that I was getting worked up over an opinion piece in which, if read carefully, Pollan is actually taking a neutral stance toward the subject and merely noting that there "may be cause for concern" Moving on: Corn ears, roasted over a fire/BBQ, then rubbed with lime and lightly sprinkled with salt is probably one of the most delicious foods I know.

By: homunculus

homunculus — Fri, 19 Jul 2002 14:04:03 -0800

"One has to wonder whether corn hasn't at last succeeded in domesticating us." And I, for one, welcome our new corn overlords.

By: MrMoonPie

MrMoonPie — Fri, 19 Jul 2002 14:32:04 -0800

In addition to the venerable moonshine and the afore-mentioned bourbon, corn is an essential ingredient in chicha.

By: BentPenguin

BentPenguin — Fri, 19 Jul 2002 14:32:55 -0800

There is but on reason why virtually all the food in supermarkets are sweetened with High FRuctose Corn Syrup: Its cheaper. There's but one reason why its cheaper than Sugar: Farm Subsidies Try this the next time you shop for food. Go the jelly and jam section. Try and find even one american made jam or jelly made with sugar. Then find some european brands. Se if you can find even one imported jam made with Corn Syrup. As for the science behind this controversy, consider this. If you accept that there at this time strong indications that sweetening with corn syrup contributes to the epidemic of hyperlipidemia in the US, why the deafening silence? Follow the money

By: euphorb

euphorb — Fri, 19 Jul 2002 15:25:47 -0800

Botany of Desire is one of the more interesting books I've read in the past few years. The aptly named Pollan takes four plants and describes our relationship with them and how we've modified them to conform to four different qualities as they have in turn used us to propagate. The plants and desires are apples, representing sweetness, tulips representing beauty, cannabis representing intoxication, and potatoes representing control. He also wrote the NYTimes Mag article about how cattle are raised in modern high density feedlots mentioned in this thread from March.

By: andrew cooke

andrew cooke — Fri, 19 Jul 2002 17:22:25 -0800

thanks for the info on the spirits. we have something called "chicha" here in chile, but the word is it's made from grapes, so i'm guessing it's a generic name for home-brewed whatever (there's a lot of grapes around here).

By: mr_crash_davis

mr_crash_davis — Fri, 19 Jul 2002 17:34:19 -0800

There's nothing better in the summer than sitting out on the back porch, shucking corn, knowing that later that evening after it's been cooked in a huge pot of boiling water you're going to slather that corn in melted butter and salt and eat it, typewriter-style, until the butter and salt runs down your arms to the elbows and there are enough corn hulls caught between your teeth to keep you busily picking at them for the next week and a half.

By: sheauga

sheauga — Fri, 19 Jul 2002 21:48:03 -0800

The Corn Palace, this year's corny murals and webcam. "A farmer kneels down to inspect his crops. A storm is brewing in the background. Weather is integral to our existence and success. Even though we cannot control Mother Nature, we pray for her cooperation." In Mitchell, SD, the tradition of Chicomecoatl lives on. Chicanos and Oaxacans still celebrate Xilonen, the young corn with the tasseled hair. Centeotl, corn god, has returned as our Sister Corn, a community center to help the neediest become self sufficient. Yum Kaax, who you may recognize, has inspired both a Cornfield Commentary and an agro-environment program (reforestation, save the turtles, stop smoking, clean up the beaches) ... Past generations watched for the red ear at the husking bee; today blue corn brings people together. Nacatamales, nixtamal and masa, posole, pinolillo, atole, polenta, journey cakes, white corn hominy, tortillas, tamales, and grits. Iroquois corn vegetarian soup, Mohawk corn soup, Tuscarora corn soup. Time to return to eating corn the way the gods intended!

By: kliuless

kliuless — Fri, 19 Jul 2002 21:51:41 -0800

ethanol too. "Imagine a world where we're not diminishing resources, we're growing them. Ethanol, a cleaner-burning fuel made from corn. ADM, the nature of what's to come." it is kind of ironic. maybe if hemp production was subsidized instead! (goes good with grapes and corn :)

By: sheauga

sheauga — Fri, 19 Jul 2002 21:58:36 -0800

Have a few more Hemp Flax Tortilla Chips, kliuless ...

By: sheauga

sheauga — Fri, 19 Jul 2002 22:03:23 -0800

With ethanol or biodiesel dip. Goes good with soy, for Afghanistan. Or amaranth.