Cobs in one basket

Corn.
We "discovered" this wonderful veggie when the Europeans were welcomed by Native Americans in the New World. It now is said corn has more than 3,000 uses. Cellulose, fuel, livestock feed, pet food and yeah we even eat it from time to time. I grew my first corn in 1983. I "saved" six corn stalks which my neighbor had thinned out of her row of corn. I took those six stalks and planted them on the edge of her garden and got about 10 ears from the lot. The next year I had my own 3 rows in her garden followed by many more in the years to come. (More on this later.) That being said, I love corn. Especially the sweet summer corn the likes of Garrison Keillor goes on and on about. But in recent times I have seen the evil of corn as a whole. We get so much from this useful and tasty vegetable. To my mind, too much. You all know the old adage about "putting all you eggs in one basket." I see what we are doing with corn these days and it scares me a little. What happens if some bizarre blight takes over this rich American product and we are without corn for even a week? No fuel, no biodegradable plastics, and no summer sweet corn. We can get these things from other sources. Just about any high oil plant can make fuel; Hemp, Soy, Canola etc. The same goes for eco-friendly plastics. I like corn... to eat. Let's leave it there. And because of our dependency on the kernels we also now make a sugar from it. Maybe you have heard of it: High Fructose Corn Syrup. There are commercials out now from the corn farmers saying it is okay in moderation. Sure, but go to another country where the bottlers still use real cane sugar and you will see what I mean. Real sugar is good and better for you in a way. HFCS tends to trick the body that it is not as full as it is... therefore we eat or drink more... pumping high calorie syrup into our systems. And we wonder why Americans are fat? Yes corn seems like the miracle veggie and again it does have more than 3,000 uses. But we rely on it too much. Beef gets a mad cow scare and we eat more chicken, fish and pork. Corn gets a bad year and we are out of plastics, fuel, feed and one of my favorite foods. So please keep working on wind power, wind doesn't get diseases, geothermal energy is safe and utilizes what the earth gives us for free, use other plants for oil and feed. My horses always liked oats. They cost more but fill up the same. Please leave the corn for the table and find something else to grow in America's fields and farmland.