Episode 629: Corn: Mayans, Monocrops, and Monopolies

On this episode of the Sofa King Podcast, we drop some science and talk about one of the most important feats of agriculture in all of human history—Corn. You may be asking, why Corn? Many people argue that it is disastrous for the environment and for agriculture in the US. For another thing, it is one of the most subsidized crops by the US government; the government pays the biggest corn growers millions of dollars a year to grow (or not grow this crop). It has a crazy history and was domesticated some 9000 years ago by ancient peoples in Mexico. It was the descendent of a plant called teosinte. It was used by the Mayans and Native Americans, and now it is used to feed animals, make plastics, create fuel, sweeten your Mt. Dew and just about everything else you can think of. From threats of eco disaster to potentially corrupt government payoffs, Corn is more interesting than you might think.   Visit Our Sources: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/rethinking-corny-history-maize-180971038/ https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/time-to-rethink-corn/ https://farmtogether.com/learn/blog/a-brief-history-of-corn https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maize https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBuYUb_mFXA https://www.thebalance.com/farm-subsidies-4173885 https://grist.org/food/our-crazy-farm-subsidies-explained/ https://www.farmprogress.com/vegetables/13-ways-corn-used-our-everyday-lives https://www.freshcityfarms.com/blogs/9-facts-you-might-not-know-about-corn https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC212689/ http://www.teachinghistory100.org/objects/about_the_object/maize_god