Maize: Environment
While corn has transformed modern agriculture in many ways, its environmental impacts are particularly pressing in two areas, biofuels and plastics.
Biofuel Hype
Corn has been recently touted as a possible saviour to our global environmental woes, but don’t believe the hype. According to recent studies at universities in the US, corn is not a sustainable biofuel.
A study by Cornell University and University of California-Berkeley published in Natural Resources Research found that corn requires 29 percent more fossil energy than the fuel produced. And environmental engineering researchers at Missouri University of Science and Technology have stated that ethanol derived from corn grown in Nebraska would require 50 gallons of water per mile driven.
Alternative to Plastic
Corn has also been processed into resin, which is used to create containers and packaging for food and consumer goods as an alternative to what we already know are dangerous plastics. Conventional plastic packaging uses an estimated 200,000 barrels of oil a day in the United States. The corn resin, also known as PLA, is compostableand possibly even cheap. While some natural foods and eco-flatware distributors have been offering corn cups and packaging for some time, Wal-Mart recently announced its foray into the PLA business, giving the industry a big boost.
But Elizabeth Royte reports in Smithsonian that PLA has drawbacks that haven’t been publicized. She discovered that while PLA is compostable, it is under very specific circumstances: in “a large facility where compost—essentially, plant scraps being digested by microbes into fertilizer—reaches 140 degrees for ten consecutive days.” NatureWorks, the largest producer of PLA, has identified 113 facilities nationwide that can handle the demanding composting process.
This is by no means the death toll on corn resin plastics, but clearly, more research and planning is necessary to make it a viable eco-friendly alternative.
Corn gathering / Manifestación de maiz by . SantiMB .
“Hanging from a balcony of the Main square of the village. / Colgadas en un balcón de la Plaza Mayor del pueblo.”
Maize: Further Reading
Corn and Capitalism: How a Botanical Bastard Grew to Global Dominance
Corn: Origin, History, Technology, Production
Maize and Grace: Africa’s Encounter with a New World Crop, 1500-2000
Maize: Introduction
Maize, called corn in the US and Canada, is one of the most widely produced crops in the world, with the US Department of Agriculture reporting 332 million metric tons produced annually in the United States alone. Originally found in Mexico, maize has proven incredibly versatile and hardy in spreading across North America and the world. According to the Global Crop Diversity Trust, maize is now grown in at least 164 countries around the world.
The popularity and spread of maize has been aided by its ability to flourish in a staggering variety of climates. Maize can grow at latitudes varying from the equator to slightly above 50 degrees north and south, from sea level to over 3000 meters elevation, in cool and hot climates, and with growing cycles ranging from 3 to 13 months.
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