Corn Case Study Summary

1. Is there a problem with corn being a major part of grocery store products? Why or why not?

2. Do you agree or disagree that the tagline (Corn. Making the difference in the products we love.) summarizes CORN and why would the Ohio Corn growers choose this tagline?

3. Create a new tagline for this billboard and explain your new tagline based on what you read.

4. In your opinion and from reading, how has corn domesticated people?

5. How has government policy shaped corn production and thus, in part, what we eat?

6. Look at the “Diversity Lost” image/table on page 26. Analyze and explain both the good and the bad aspects of this information (be critical and thoughtful in your thinking and consider each item on both lists).

1. There

Many people are going to try to eat as cheaply and/or as conveniently as possible, resulting in less nutritious food choices when foods that contain corn are all the cheapest foods in their category. Not only that, but with corn in everything from frozen dinners to meat and dairy products to salad dressings to vitamins to desserts, consumers may think they are achieving a varied and even reasonably healthy diet, when in reality they are constantly eating corn. This could cause a real problem if the corn crop were ever contaminated with something, or if there really is a problem with GMO corn. There have been claims that high-fructose corn syrup makes people fat, and we certainly have seen a huge increase in the rate of overweight and obesity in the United States since the widespread use of high-fructose corn

The bad aspects, of course, are the damage to the rest of our food supply, the possible effects on health, the environmental damage that may cause problems and ultimately increase the price of food down the road (for example, climate change restricting areas where crops will be grown; or spreading dead zones making fish and shellfish less available). The other crops, the fruits and vegetables, are still being grown, but in more limited space and in more limited areas, making them in their turn potentially more vulnerable to difficulties with weather and climate change, and even things like mold or insect threats. There will also be a tendency for their farmers to seek more pesticides and fertilizers and modifications of the plants, be they by hybridizing or genetically modifying, in order to grow more in a more limited space, contributing more of the same sorts of environmental damage. Also, of course, these foods have become relatively more expensive. Choosing the cheaper corn-centered foods also causes consumers to miss out on some excellent nutrition and some great foods that can get overlooked when purchasing processed foods. That list makes me want a turkey dinner even though it 's not Thanksgiving, or perhaps some home-baked chicken and baked potato, some seasonal vegetables, and a berry salad for dessert. Like everyone else, I usually buy the cheap and easy dinners, but looking at that list and imagining all those colorful fruits and vegetables may spur