Nearly 9,000 years ago
first domesticated from teosinte
Over the next 4,700 years
farmers bred it into a staple crop
Maize spread throughout the Americas
took on an important role
Europeans first arrived in America
soon crossed the Atlantic
a popular grain in many European countries
1850s
Unique varieties
difficult for train operators to package
difficult for traders to sell
1893
World’s Fair
James Reid’s yellow dent corn won the Blue Ribbon
1944-1972
numerous corn concoctions
Today
Cultivated corn
60%
supports consumer good industries （食品消费工业）
Views
Europeans
Bias
The source of physical and cultural differences between them and the Mesoamericans
Attempted to cultivate European crops in American soil
Found the crop to their taste
indigenous societies （原住民）
Harms behind its boom
agriculture-related carbon emissions
contributor to diabetes and obesity
monoculture farming （单一耕作农业）
a maze of unsustainability
Demand for meat and corn feed
inexpensive meat production
Policy
limited the amount of corn farmers
massive grain sales to the Soviet Union
An attractive crop to American farmers
Technological developments of World War II
Chemical explosive ammonium nitrate
The goddess who created agriculture
Teosinte
a grass native to Mesoamerica
