Essay On Domestication Of Maize

Domestication of Maize

Throughout the history of the human race there have been a great number of crops that were discovered, planted, and over time domesticated. Wheat in the Middle East, rice in Asia, and rye in Eastern Europe are all some of today’s staple crops that feed millions every day. Crops like these make up over 50% of the world’s total food supply. However, the third most eaten crop in the world is maize, or corn, which provides 21% of human nutrition. Today maize feeds millions across the world, but its history is different from the others.

A surprising fact is that most of the corn we produce in the United States is not actually eaten. In 2008 the United States produced a total of 12.1 million bushels of maize. Of that 5.2 million was used as livestock feed, 3.6 million for ethanol production, 1.8 million for exporting, .9 million for production of starch, sweeteners, high fructose corn syrup, and oils, and finally .3 million for human consumption in grits, flour, alcohol, etc.

Maize also has uses beyond being used as a food source or being turned into oil. Maize’s main use is for food, but it can be used in creative ways. For example the popped kernels of maize, commonly referred to as ‘popcorn’ is seasoned and coated in different ways in order to make the ethnic foods of Vietnam and Peru. Corn is also used to create basic alternative medicines and herbal supplements using the corn silk, but this use is not often capitalized on. The starches from maize are a major source of material for products like plastics, fabrics, and adhesives. Also a by-product from the maize ‘wet milling’ process called ‘corn step liquor’ is of a major use to the biochemical industry because it is a perfect culture to grow many kinds of m...

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...here has been. The 8,700 year old dating also coincides with the approximate age of maize domestication given by genealogists.

The story of maize domestication is not only an interesting topic to us today, but an impressive realization on how hard it was for people living thousands of years ago to find food for themselves. The people living in modern day Mexico eight thousand, seven hundred years ago found a crop that was not much more than a stick with small pods that could be pried off for a small reward of nutrients. However, with that plant they created one of the most useful foods today because of thousands of years of artificial breeding and domestication. Maize is an extremely useful crop that is easy to grow, and gives giant harvests thanks to the experimentation and instinct of our ancestors, and the act of artificial selection over the passage of time.