How corn conquered the world - Chris Kniesly
-
0:07 - 0:12Corn currently accounts for more than
one tenth of our global crop production. -
0:12 - 0:17The United States alone has enough
cornfields to cover Germany. -
0:17 - 0:21But while other crops we grow
come in a range of varieties, -
0:21 - 0:29over 99% of cultivated corn is the
exact same type: Yellow Dent #2. -
0:29 - 0:32This means that humans grow
more Yellow Dent #2 -
0:32 - 0:35than any other plant on the planet.
-
0:35 - 0:39So how did this single variety
of this single plant -
0:39 - 0:44become the biggest success story
in agricultural history? -
0:44 - 0:48Nearly 9,000 years ago, corn,
also called maize, -
0:48 - 0:53was first domesticated from teosinte,
a grass native to Mesoamerica. -
0:53 - 0:57Teosinte’s rock-hard seeds
were barely edible, -
0:57 - 1:01but its fibrous husk could be turned
into a versatile material. -
1:01 - 1:07Over the next 4,700 years, farmers bred
the plant into a staple crop, -
1:07 - 1:10with larger cobs and edible kernels.
-
1:10 - 1:15As maize spread throughout the Americas,
it took on an important role, -
1:15 - 1:19with multiple indigenous societies
revering a “Corn Mother” -
1:19 - 1:22as the goddess who created agriculture.
-
1:22 - 1:27When Europeans first arrived in America,
they shunned the strange plant. -
1:27 - 1:31Many even believed it was the source of
physical and cultural differences -
1:31 - 1:33between them and the Mesoamericans.
-
1:33 - 1:34However,
-
1:34 - 1:39their attempts to cultivate European crops
in American soil quickly failed, -
1:39 - 1:42and the settlers were forced
to expand their diet. -
1:42 - 1:46Finding the crop to their taste,
maize soon crossed the Atlantic, -
1:46 - 1:50where its ability to grow in diverse
climates made it a popular grain -
1:50 - 1:53in many European countries.
-
1:53 - 1:58But the newly established United States
was still the corn capital of the world. -
1:58 - 2:02In the early 1800’s, different regions
across the country -
2:02 - 2:06produced strains of varying
size and taste. -
2:06 - 2:07In the 1850’s, however,
-
2:07 - 2:12these unique varieties proved difficult
for train operators to package, -
2:12 - 2:14and for traders to sell.
-
2:14 - 2:19Trade boards in rail hubs like Chicago
encouraged corn farmers -
2:19 - 2:21to breed one standardized crop.
-
2:21 - 2:26This dream would finally be
realized at 1893’s World’s Fair, -
2:26 - 2:31where James Reid’s yellow dent corn
won the Blue Ribbon. -
2:31 - 2:35Over the next 50 years, yellow dent
corn swept the nation. -
2:35 - 2:38Following the technological
developments of World War II, -
2:38 - 2:41mechanized harvesters became
widely available. -
2:41 - 2:46This meant a batch of corn that previously
took a full day to harvest by hand -
2:46 - 2:50could now be collected in just 5 minutes.
-
2:50 - 2:54Another wartime technology, the chemical
explosive ammonium nitrate, -
2:54 - 2:57also found new life on the farm.
-
2:57 - 2:59With this new synthetic fertilizer,
-
2:59 - 3:03farmers could plant dense fields
of corn year after year, -
3:03 - 3:08without the need to rotate their crops
and restore nitrogen to the soil. -
3:08 - 3:12While these advances made corn an
attractive crop to American farmers, -
3:12 - 3:16US agricultural policy limited the
amount farmers could grow -
3:16 - 3:18to ensure high sale prices.
-
3:18 - 3:23But in 1972, President Richard Nixon
removed these limitations -
3:23 - 3:27while negotiating massive grain
sales to the Soviet Union. -
3:27 - 3:31With this new trade deal
and WWII technology, -
3:31 - 3:35corn production exploded into
a global phenomenon. -
3:35 - 3:40These mountains of maize inspired
numerous corn concoctions. -
3:40 - 3:45Cornstarch could be used as a thickening
agent for everything from gasoline to glue -
3:45 - 3:51or processed into a low-cost sweetener
known as High-Fructose Corn Syrup. -
3:51 - 3:55Maize quickly became one of the
cheapest animal feeds worldwide. -
3:55 - 3:58This allowed for inexpensive
meat production, -
3:58 - 4:02which in turn increased the demand
for meat and corn feed. -
4:02 - 4:07Today, humans eat only 40% of
all cultivated corn, -
4:07 - 4:12while the remaining 60% supports consumer
good industries worldwide. -
4:12 - 4:16Yet the spread of this wonder-crop
has come at a price. -
4:16 - 4:21Global water sources are polluted by
excess ammonium nitrate from cornfields. -
4:21 - 4:26Corn accounts for a large portion of
agriculture-related carbon emissions, -
4:26 - 4:30partly due to the increased meat
production it enables. -
4:30 - 4:35The use of high fructose corn syrup may
be a contributor to diabetes and obesity. -
4:35 - 4:38And the rise of monoculture farming
-
4:38 - 4:43has left our food supply dangerously
vulnerable to pests and pathogens— -
4:43 - 4:48a single virus could infect the world’s
supply of this ubiquitous crop. -
4:48 - 4:51Corn has gone from a bushy grass
-
4:51 - 4:54to an essential element of the
world’s industries. -
4:54 - 5:00But only time will tell if it has led us
into a maze of unsustainability.
- Title:
- How corn conquered the world - Chris Kniesly
- Speaker:
- Chris Kniesly
- Description:
-
View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-corn-conquered-the-world-chris-kniesly
Corn currently accounts for more than one tenth of our global crop production. And over 99% of cultivated corn is the exact same type: Yellow Dent #2. This means that humans grow more Yellow Dent #2 than any other plant on the planet. So how did this single variety of this single plant become the biggest success story in agricultural history? Chris Kniesly investigates the rise of this wonder-crop.
Lesson by Chris Kniesly, directed by Artrake Studio.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TED-Ed
- Duration:
- 05:00
Elise Haadsma approved English subtitles for How corn conquered the world | ||
Elise Haadsma accepted English subtitles for How corn conquered the world | ||
lauren mcalpine edited English subtitles for How corn conquered the world |