Corn

About this book

Originating in Mesoamerica 9,000 years ago, maize - or, as we know it, corn - now grows in 160 countries. In the New World, indigenous peoples referred to corn as "Our Mother," "Our Life," and "She Who Sustains Us." Today, the United States is the world's leading producer of corn, and you can find more than 3,500 items in grocery stores that contain corn in one way or another - from puddings to soups, margarine to mayonnaise. In Corn: A Global History, Michael Owen Jones explores the origins of this humble but irreplaceable crop.