Agriculture and Environment: Commodities

Overview: Corn/Maize (Zea mays)

Corn (known as maize in much of the world) was domesticated by indigenous people some 7,000 to 10,000 years ago in Mexico or Central America.

It is still consumed throughout the region, usually in the form of tortillas, and very often at 3 meals a day.

Sometimes corn with a little salt is the entire meal. At the time of European conquest, corn was produced throughout North and South America in longitudes from 58 degrees north to 40 degrees south in virtually all areas with sufficient growing seasons and rainfall. The Europeans first took corn home to plant and then spread it throughout their colonies.

For many Indian societies in North and South America, corn was a sacred food. Its cultivation and consumption were the stuff of rituals. Corn was not planted, harvested, or eaten the first time each year without paying proper respect to the gods that provided it. Different varieties were often cultivated. Some were used every day, others only for special occasions.

Some societies preferred yellow, others white, still others red or blue varieties. Some 30,000 varieties are thought to have existed. Corn allowed many indigenous societies throughout the Americas to develop surpluses of food that could be stored, thus freeing their time to do other things. Many of the first indigenous villages and settlements as groups ceased being nomads both in order to cultivate corn and because of the surplus it provided.

Over time, however, corn has lost its lustre as a "choice" food in many parts of the world. While it is still a major source of food for many people on the planet, particularly poor people, as soon as they can afford it, corn consumers abandon it in favour of a diet containing more fruit, vegetables, and protein. At this time, corn is used not as a "gift of the gods" food but rather as animal feed.