Recently, I discovered the urge and swift need to take a plate of white corn prepared with love from my niece. “Here’s your corn, take it.” Possibly, because she had just shuck the ears of corn to boil, and wanted me to share in the delight. Or the urge could have been out of concern for me not to waste the corn. Surprisingly, I went back for a second ear of white corn.
It was the white corn which sparked my curiosity- hence why I am writing about corn! You may consider it corny, but hey- everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and corny is connected to the corn lineage which dates back before 1770. By 1780, corn had been transformed into corn whiskey. This is very innovative for that century.
The tall annual cereal grass, originally domesticated in Mexico, is widely grown for its large elongated ears of starchy seeds, also considered a grain. The corn industry can be a maze, similar to its parent name maize. Simply navigating your way through only to arrive at a hard seed which can be either yellow or white can be a tedious process. Is the grain really worth the process? That answer can be examined from two perspectives. One being, if you are tending to the crops then develop a corn on the epidermis of the foot skin, most likely you will consider treating it. From an agricultural farmer’s point, if the corn isn’t rotated, tilled, and maintained with quality care the corn is subject to losing the yield, and disease. Yes, that is right, you read correctly, corn can catch diseases. Please don’t think only humans are subject to disease.
It will be very helpful to know if the corn industry has the #skinnyrepeal healthcare treatment plan, or the Monsanto solution. Perhaps over time will reveal the nutritionist value corn has for both animals and humans, but it’s almost 2050 when Sustainable Development Goals should be met. Not sure if this results in any ED’s (endocrine disruptors) actions being affected, but the biodiversity technology can certainty edit those genes if need be.
Let’s reflect on the brevity of corn whiskey during Mozart’s era, “The Magical Flute.” Perhaps Monostatos would have drank some corn whiskey to feel more loved because his blackness was implied as ugly in the opera. Furthermore, corn liquor had a more lasting effect back then, and today some people still make corn liquor.
Moving on to more modern day times, the year 2012, when the corn industry took a major blow to the bushel’s. There is not much time to shuck and jive in the corn industry, not a corny cliche’ but a correct statement. After what could be classified as a “corn curse” when the industry lost 1.1 billion bushel’s of corn equally over $7 billion dollars in revenue, according to USDA market price standards. Wonder what type of recovery plan was in place back then, but Mike Stern, Chairman of Monsanto plans to revive the industry with “Digital Agriculture.”
Not sure the Black Farmers Association or Black Farmers like Mr. Robert Binion would be interested in “Digital Agricultural” they would be more interested in being able to tend to their own row crops with the assistance promised by the USDA. Stern suggest “Digital Agriculture” is still a very new space and farmers continue to rely heavily on their intuition, experience, and own knowledge of their fields.
The need for Sustainable Development by 2050 has been addressed and some of the goals are no poverty, zero hunger, good health and well being, clean water and sanitation, and Stern promises nutrient efficiency and helping make balanced meals more accessible for everyone on the planet. Monsanto’s solution to upholding there promised goals with a plan to combine plant breeding with modern scientific techniques to create more flavorful, attractive vegetables that can better withstand natures challenges and provide consumers with visually appealing great tasting vegetables on their plates.
Currently, DEKALB, a brand corn company is using the biotechnology innovations for sweet corn and squash since traditional methods of pest and disease control where not as effective as biotechnology solution. Going back through the maze, long after the corn whiskey, did anyone encounter “corn disease” during the bubonic plague? Was the disease more prevalent in the crops or consumers? Did liver cancer get diagnosed? These are all great questions to consider when in a corn maze.
In the state of Wisconsin, some common corn disease to consider getting familiar with are Common Rust, which erupts through surface of leaf and have a rusty brown appearance. Eye Spot disease is often confused for genetic small circular lesion or spots that are surrounded by a red yellow halo, and lesions may grow together leading to death of large areas of tissue. Another corn disease is Anthracnose, and it variable depending on genotype leaf, age, and environment, and rusty brown lesions that have a yellowish halo stalk.
Corn sure is hard beyond its texture once you peel back the stalks! Sort of still puzzled in the maze as to the nutrient factor in corn for human consumption. We know it’s beneficial beyond human consumption, but can it really provide food security, harnessing the nutrients the human body need for survival on the planet. Time will reveal, but the maize has been genetically modified now.
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