Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. Galatians 6:7-10
This may seem like a strange goal. After all, corn is rich in many nutrients, including Vitamin B1 and B5, Vitamin C, folate, fiber, phosphorus, and manganese. But as we learn more about US agricultural practices, we can't help but feel a little angst about the topic of corn. After all, corn is the most heavily produced crop in this country, and the US is by far the world's top producer, but only about 10% of it makes its way into our food supply. And most likely by the time it gets there, it's not in its original nutrient-rich form. Of the 10%, about half of this becomes high fructose corn syrup, and the rest is mainly used to make alcohol, starches, sweeteners, and cereal products. So where else does corn go? Well, around 57% goes directly to animal feed (for more on this read Goal #1: Eat Less Meat), and 20% is used for ethanol.
With so much corn, you'd think that the United States must have really hit the jackpot with how to grow so much, so cheap. There has to be a good reason that we produce so much of this crop right? This is what we find so confusing.
• Corn is not exactly a profitable crop. Farmers need a subsidy if they even expect to break even on the cost of growing and harvesting corn. In other words, our taxes pay largely for our massive stores of corn.
• Corn is highly dependent on fossil fuels - corn is not really a "renewable" resource. In order to grow corn at the current massive yields per acre, corn requires large amounts of fertilizers and pesticides (both produced using fossil fuels).
• Corn is not environmentally friendly - harmful pesticides, runoff of nitrates into soil /water supplies, massive soil erosion and deforestation to name a few.
Most people would be surprised to find out that most of the corn that lines the plains of this nation is not actually edible as you would imagine. It is a "commodity crop" genetically modified so that it is easy to use as animal feed and easy to be processed into derivatives such as corn syrup and preservatives - specifically designed to be high in carbohydrates (from which we make sugar) and low in fiber and nutrients, which are discarded in processing. Soy is much of the same story.
A man reaps what he sows. We sow seeds that are largely useless as food, and we reap crops that are useless as food. As our hungry neighbors starve, we use most of our agricultural land to fuel our meat-heavy fast food diets, our 10-minute one box dinners, our soda and alcohol addictions. These problems are not exactly solved easily, but we'll do our small (and healthier) part by limiting the amount of food dollars we use to participate in such a system.
We'll still be eating good old-fashioned corn - organic and local if we can help it!
