Corn, Corn, Corn.

I am taking a class at American University called Political Ecology of Food and Agriculture. I may of mentioned it already. However, last week we had an assignment: a corn-free diet for the week. Did a try? Well, yeah. Did I do it? Well... not so much!

A little background: the class read a brief history of corn in the United States from the 21st century ethical-food guru, and, yes, I am talking about Michael Pollan and The Omnivore's Dilemma. In the first part of the book, Pollan discusses corn--what it was and what it has become. I am not going to cover it in detail here--If you haven't read it, well, I highly recommend it. Basically, corn is in everything we eat. Everything. With the big-agriculture of industrial farming, corn has become the staple to the American diet. Not only is it the starch base, but it is a sweetener, and it is in many preservatives etc as well. It is also a part of the meat we eat as much of it is given to animal's feed. So, if I were to truly cut out corn from my diet, that would mean a vegan diet (unless the animal's were grass-fed, but there is no real way to know that for sure) and no processed foods (because they most likely contain corn in some way-shape-or-form)...basically nothing in the typical American diet. (http://www.cornallergens.com/list/corn-allergen-list.php ... for an example)

However, I really think that I could have done it by cooking for myself. Looking in my refrigerator and shelves, my diet is not really typical American. The only food I could not eat according to my regular eating habits was the dairy products: milk, cheese, yogurt, which I each pretty much everyday! Those don't necessarily have corn as I buy organic/free-range etc ... however, I really couldn't be sure-as it wasn't specific on the label and we must remember that corn can be organic too. However, the majority of my food (except the few indulgence items--chocolate!) does not have corn in it.

Regardless of the fact that looking in my cabinets on the first day, realizing my assignment was totally do-able... I failed the next day. There was pizza at the office for lunch, and everyone knows that a college student does not pass up free-food, no matter what the dietary restrictions may be!

Although I did eat corn and once I did, I kinda gave up with the intensity of the assignment. (Oops.) I do think I got the message and purpose behind the assignment though. 1. I did realize how reliant we are on corn as it is in most things--even unexpectedly and hidden. 2. I did continue to read labels, so I at least knew when I was eating corn. This helped to take into consideration what exactly I was eating, so when I eat my granola in the morning, I know waht I am eating in all the individual parts and pieces of it and not just "granola". 3. I realize how hard it is to know where our food comes from and how most people don't really care to know. The pizza I ate that ended it all(!) most likely had corn in it... I am nearly positive. I say nearly, as there was no ingredients list and no information that came with the take-out box. Since then, I have begun a new project (more on it later) and, let me tell you--it is so hard to trace back the commodity chain of our food!

To end with an interesting cultural/historical note: as it is (maybe?) well-known, corn originally came from Latin America, and Mexico actually hails as the birth-place of corn. The sacred book of the Mayan people, their story of creation, is called the Popul-Vuh, and according to their legends, the Gods made people from corn. This explains the importance of corn (the staple of the diet) for the Mayans, and still in Mexico today. Today, we are still corn-people, but in a less-obvious way. In Mexico, everything is corn, but obviously corn--torillas, tameles, etc. Here, in the States, first of all we don't know what is in half of what we eat, but even so, the corn does not take an obvious place in our diet because it is hidden in the ingredients--often with a different name.

So, corn-people, remember that I am not saying corn is bad... I, in fact, love corn! Just keep in mind the importance of it and how MUCH we actually eat! The Mayans got one thing right: Corn is the essential food...even today.