Everything Everywhere Daily: History, Science, Geography & More - Corn aka Maize

Starting point is 00:00:00 The biggest agricultural crop in the world today by total weight is corn. Also known as maize, corn is a crop of the new world. The ancients in China, India, Mesopotamia, and Rome never knew about corn. Yet since the Colombian exchange, it's become one of the world's most important commodities, as a source of food, animal feed, and the basis of many manufactured products. Learn more about corn, aka Mays, where it came from and how it revolutionized the world of agriculture, on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. What if your perceptions about the past were wrong?

Starting point is 00:00:49 ThruLine is a podcast that takes you back in time to uncover the parts of the story that may have gone unnoticed. It effectively turned day into night. And how it shaped the world now. Time travel with us every week on the ThruLine podcast from NPR. Before I get too far into this episode, I need to clarify something about the word. corn. In a previous episode on the Lighthouse of Alexandria, I quoted a passage from Julius Caesar's

Starting point is 00:01:22 commentaries. The passage was, quote, the result was that safe access was secured for his corn supplies and reinforcements. A listener contacted me to correct me, pointing out that Caesar wouldn't have known about corn because it came from the new world. And that is true. But that's not how the word corn was used in that passage. The word corn's original meaning in English was as a synonym for grain. In the 19th century, Britain enacted the corn laws, which lifted tariffs on all grain imports. It was the Americans who came to associate the word corn with the particular crop known as maize. In Britain and some other Commonwealth countries, the crop continued to be known as maize, even though such terms as popcorn and sweet corn did catch on. The American meaning of corn,

Starting point is 00:02:10 being the name for maize, has largely been catching on around the world, and the antiquated meaning of corn as a general term for grain is losing favor. So, for the purpose of this episode, when I'm talking about corn, I am referring to maize. Corn was first domesticated by indigenous peoples living in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago from a wild grass called Tio Sente. While Tiocenti looks just like grass, with a bit larger than average grass seeds. If you saw it in the wild, you probably won't even look twice at it. The transformation from Tio Sente to Maze was a remarkable feat of agricultural engineering, involving selective breeding of plants for more desirable traits such as larger and more numerous kernels.

Starting point is 00:02:55 All varieties of corn that exist in the world today are all ancestors of this single domestication event of Tio Sente that took place 9,000 years ago in southern Mexico. Corn became the primary crop that was grown in the new world. It spread rapidly both north and south from Mexico. About 8,000 years ago, corn had already reached modern-day Ecuador. It became a staple for civilizations in the Andes and Meso-America as well as with tribes in North America. It's believed to have gotten as far as 40 degrees in latitude south, which is today Chile and Argentina. Corn growing techniques became highly sophisticated. One such technique was to grow three crops.

Starting point is 00:03:36 together on the same plot of land, corn, bean, and squash. The corn stalks would grow vertically and provide a base for the bean stalks to grow around it. The beans would replenish the nitrogen and the soil, and then the squash on the ground would prevent weeds from growing. Corn became a central part of many cultures in the Americas. The Mayan people believed that the maize god, known as Yom Kosh, was the crater of all things, including the first people, who were made out of corn. The Aztecs had a god of corn as well, known as Centiottal. And all of these are believed to have come from an earlier Olmec god of maize. The people in the Americas consumed corn in many different ways. They did sometimes

Starting point is 00:04:17 roast entire ears of corn directly, but that was not the most common way of preparation. One of the more common methods was known as Nixomolization, which involved soaking kernels of corn in lime water. This releases niacin, making the corn easier to digest and grind. Ground corn was used to make cornmeal, which could be used to prepare porridge, a staple food of many Native American tribes. Cornmeal was also used to bake various forms of breads and cakes. These could be sweetened or mixed with other ingredients depending on the region and available resources. When the Europeans arrived in the New World, they found hundreds of varieties of corn that had been selectively bred for thousands of years. Some varieties grew in colder climates, some in warmer climates, and

Starting point is 00:05:01 some even in the mountains. The Spanish saw the potential in the plant, and the Spanish saw the potential in the plant, they took it with them back to Europe. Corn first took root in Spain and Portugal. The climates of the southern and western Iberian peninsula proved well suited for corn cultivation, making it a popular crop amongst farmers due to its ability to grow intoverse soils and its higher yield than native grains. Here I should note corn's primary advantage over other grains. You can simply get more food from the same amount of land. One acre of corn will yield more food than wheat or barley. And this is not dissimilar as to why potatoes, another import from the new world, became so popular. In addition, it's more versatile in terms of where it can be grown, and like other grains, it can be stored and shipped easily.

Starting point is 00:05:48 From Spain, corn spread to Italy in the Balkan regions, where it was quickly adopted due to similar climatic conditions. It became especially prominent in areas where other cereal crops had poor yields. Although it took longer to establish in Northern Europe, corn eventually did become a part of the crop mix there, although it never became, a dominant crop. By the 17th and 18th centuries, corn became a staple crop for peasants in southern Europe and found its way into dishes such as polenta in Italy. As European powers established colonies all over the world, they brought corn with them. Portuguese and Spanish and later other European colonies introduced it to Africa, Asia, and the rest of the Americas. In Africa, corn quickly became a staple, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa due to its adaptability to various climates and its

Starting point is 00:06:35 ability to provide high yields. Corn became integral to many African diets and agricultural systems. As popular as corn was as it spread around the world, it didn't reach its peak, however, until the 20th century. And the big development was the creation of corn hybrids. In 1908, George Schull, working at the Cold Springs Harbor Laboratory in New York, began experimenting with corn plants. He discovered that by inbreeding corn lines and then crossing these inbred lines, he could produce offspring known as hybrids that were much more vigorous and productive than either parent. This phenomenon known as heterosis or hybrid vigor was a groundbreaking discovery. Henry Wallace, who would later become the vice president of the United States and Donald Jones further Scholl's work.

Starting point is 00:07:27 Wallace, through his company, Pioneer Hybrid, was instrumental in commercializing hybrid corn. corn. Jones, working at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, developed the double-cross method, which was more practical for large-scale production than Schull's single-cross hybrids. From 1865 to 1935, corn yields had remained steady at approximately 26 bushels per acre. The commercial potential of hybrid corn was finally realized during the Great Depression. Its adoption was promoted as a way to increased yields, and consequently profitability for struggling farmers. By 1940, hybrid corn had spread across the United States and was responsible for half of all corn planted. By the 1980s, the yield in terms of bushels of corn per acre in the United

Starting point is 00:08:13 States was over 100. And today, the average is about 178 bushels per acre, with some places in some years reaching over 200. The benefits of hybrid corn were not confined to the United States. In the decades after its discovery, hybrid corn spread worldwide and, was adapted to various climates and conditions. Countries in Latin America, Africa, and Asia saw significant increases in corn production due to the adoption of hybrid varieties, which helped mitigate famine risks in many developing regions. The explosion in corn yields was only possible due to the mechanization of agriculture, which included large tractors and combines, which allowed a small number of people to harvest

Starting point is 00:08:53 extremely large fields of corn. However, the increase in corn yields in total production was only half the same. story. The other half involves the host of new uses and products that were made from corn. One of the earliest corn products was corn starch. Corn starch is derived from the endosperm of the corn kernel and was first commercially produced in the United States in the 1840s. It's used extensively in the food industry as a thickening agent, as well as in pharmaceuticals and paper manufacturing. Corn syrup made by breaking down corn starch into glucose through a chemical process was developed in the late 19th century. In the 1960s, corn syrup was used to create high-fructose corn syrup,

Starting point is 00:09:35 a subject that I covered in a previous episode. High-fructose corn syrup became extremely popular as a sweetening agent starting in the 1970s due to its low cost. Corn oil is extracted from the germ of corn kernels and emerged as a byproduct of the corn refining process. Initially developed to utilize excess corn from the starch and corn syrup industries, corn oil quickly found its niche due to its mild flavor and high smoke point, making it ideal for cooking and frying. The production process involves pressing the corn germ to extract the oil, followed by refining, bleaching, and deodorizing to produce a clear, neutral flavored oil. Another product made from corn is ethanol. Ethanol made from corn has been used as a fuel since the early 20th century, but its use increased significantly during the 1970s

Starting point is 00:10:22 during the OPEC oil embargo. Today, corn-based ethanol is blended with gasoline and can be found in many areas with large-scale corn production. Of course, ethanol for fuel is only a short step away from alcohol for consumption, and corn is the basis for many spirits, including whiskey and some vodas. One of the newer uses for corn are bioplastics, materials such as polylactic acid or relatively recent development, gaining prominence over the last few decades. These plastics are biodegradable and can be used as an alternative to petroleum-based plastics in products such as packaging materials and disposable cutlery. Of course, I cannot forget the use of corn

Starting point is 00:11:02 that most people are probably familiar with as a food. Popular snacks like popcorn, tortilla chips, corn chips, and various puff or extruded snacks owe their existence to corn. These snacks capitalize on a corn's ability to expand and provide texture when heated or processed. The triangle-shaped tortilla chip, which is so popular today,

Starting point is 00:11:23 was actually first mass produced in the 1940s. It was developed by a woman named Rebecca Webb Caranza, who created fried tortilla chips as a way to make use of misshapen tortillas at her tortilla factory in Los Angeles. Tortilla chips are different than corn chips, like fritos made with fried corn meal. Also, tortilla chips are usually made out of corn which went through the extomalization process, whereas corn chips normally did not. Most of what I discussed with corn deals with products that come from the corn kernel. However, there's a whole lot to a corn plant beyond the actual corn kernels. Corn cobs, stalks, and leaves are an enormous amount of byproduct that can't readily be consumed. But thankfully, there is a host of uses for all the leftovers from corn production.

Starting point is 00:12:10 One of the biggest uses is as animal fodder. It can be fed directly to animals or process into a silage, which involves fermenting the plant material under anaerobic conditions to preserve its nutritional value for livestock consumption during times when fresh pasture isn't available. It can also be used for compost and mulch, as well as a host of novel uses such as packaging materials, building materials, paper, and abrasives. By weight, the amount of corn produced in the world is greater than any other agricultural product, and it is the sixth most important crop in terms of value. Approximately 1.2 billion metric tons of corn is produced globally each year, with the largest corn producing countries being the United States, China, and Brazil. Given all of the things that can be done with corn, corn production will probably only increase over the rest of the 21st century.

Starting point is 00:13:03 The fact that such an important global commodity all came from a type of grass in southern Mexico is truly amazing. The executive producer of Everything Everywhere Daily is Charles Daniel. The associate producers are Ben Long and Cameron Kiefer. Today's review comes from listener Nolan 775-44-64 on Apple Podcasts in the United States. They write, Everything Everywhere is almost perfect. I found this show because of an advertisement on the Michael Shermer podcast, and I started listening from the beginning.

Starting point is 00:13:37 After over 200 episodes, I have found only one problem. He's a Packers fan. This podcast is so good, though, even as a Bears fan, I'm willing to forgive him and continue to listen and learn something new every day. Thanks, Nolan. Let me just check the Wikipedia entry here for the Packer Bears rivalry, and it says here the longest win streak between the teams is 10,000. games, and it occurred from 2019 to now.

Starting point is 00:14:03 Well, it looks like the Bears have not beaten the Packers this decade. Best of luck with your new quarterback, which I guess is something that you can pretty much say every year. Remember, if you leave a review or send me a boostagram, you two can have it read in the show.

Everything Everywhere Daily: History, Science, Geography & More - Corn aka Maize

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