Literature

• Warman, Arturo 1988: La historia de un bastardo. Maíz y capitalismo. FCE: México, D.F.

Literature

• Kaller-Dietrich, Martina: Mais – Ernährung und Kolonialismus. In: Mais - Geschichte und Nutzung einer Kulturpflanze (=Historische Sozialkunde/ Internationale Entwicklung 18). Ingruber, Daniela/ Kaller-Dietrich, Martina (edas): Wien/ Frankfurt a.M. 2001: 13-42

CornBotanical: zea maysZea (Cereal grain) mahiz (caribbean, preserving life)

Pictures from the Codex Florentino, 1570 (Codices served as reports to the Crown)

Mesoamerican Corn cultivation Planting with – Separating and piling – Harvest digging hooks (hoe) of plants

Combined cultivation of corn in the mesoamerican milpa

EFFECTS• positive waterbalance• limits soil and eolian ersosion • soil renutriment assured

Multiple uses of corn in Mexico:

The corn silk (espigas) are prepared as tea which is attributed healing effects (in case of urinary infections and ailments of the kidney) The de-grained corncobs (olote) serve as fuel material, as animal fodder, for the production of tools, as replacement for toilet paper and as basis for the production of explosive oil.The green corn leaves serve as animal fodder and fertilizers.The corn stalks are used as construction material, fertilizers and for the production of diverse tools. The corn husk, the tightly-wrapped leaves that cover the cob, called totomoxtle, serve for wrapping up meals.The strong roots of the corn stalks either are left for the improvement of the soil or are used as fuel material.

Corn smutThe corn smut is a parasitic mushroom which infects the corn plants

Also the pitch-black corn smut, the so-called huitlacoche (= botan. ustilago maydis), is eaten and because of culinary reasons its infestation is also intentionally induced.

Corn people Fresco from BonampakChiapas

Codex Chimalpocoa - Nahuatl4 failed attempts to create humans from different food; Quetzalcóatl, in the shape of an ant, penetrated into the “mountain of preservation” and found there corn – from that moment onwards the Gods nourished themselves from corn and from it they created humans

Pop-Wuj - Mayas3 attempts to create humans:1st. attempt, out of loam – but they could not stand the weather conditions2nd. attempt, out of wood – but they were clumsy3rd. attempt, out of corn – humans could think, speak and admire the Gods

GENESIS AND CORN

Preparation of corn dough for making corn TORTILLAS

soaking and cooking withslaked lime

washing out of lime and peeling of the grain

grinding/ squeezing on the METATE (=Mesoamerican grindermade from basalt)

Pre-Columbian Kitchen utensils

Dissemination of Corn in Europe

15th century: Ornamental plants16th century: Portuguese bring corn to West Africa

Food rations for slaves

Since the 17th century: moderate cultivation especially in Southern Italy and in the Balcans (Ottoman Empire)Epidemic spread of Pellagra

CORN FOOD FOR POOR PEOPLE

PellagraIn the 18th century identified as a deficiency diseaseEvidence is available since the 17th century in Southern Spain

Symptoms: Inflamation of the skin (dermatitis)DiarreahDebility (dementia)

DeathEpidemics: Southern France, Northern Italy (Pianura Padana),

Balcans

Mal de Rojas

• 1937: Cause was found to be deficiency of niacin

• Interaction between Nicotinic acids and Vitamin B

• Administration of products containing niacin: beer yeasts,

pork fat

CORN IN THE USA

Part of the succes story

Settlers learned from the Indigenous peoples

1. Corn cultivation with digging hooks (hoes)2. Preparation of corn (for example hominy: corn

kernels cooked with ashes)

Corn is Food for the plantation workers slaves

in the Southern States

Corn = (besides raising pigs Fat) the backbone of the production of tobacco / sugar and cotton

After 1865 (abolishment of the slavery) there was more corn produced than cotton

SLAVE BREEDING

• … on the cotton plantations

• Different forms of production:

• Plantations or in the back gardens of the workers

• Preparation: Mash, dough or couscous – Source:

http://www.afropop.org/multi/interview/ID/76/Gwendolyn+Midlo+Hall-2005

Corn Beltin the Midwest

Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas and Nebraska

Basis for livestock production

20th century: 40% of the world production in the USA

Corn for livestock in the USA

Practiced in the USA since 1830

Experimental laboratory: Valley of OhioHerds of cattle from Indiana were herded to be fattened in the Ohio valley and afterwards were taken to the slaughterhouses of Cincinnati

Corn for livestock in the USA

• 6 kg corn 1 kg beef

• 1910: < 80% of the corn production in the corn belt were used for animal fattening

• 20th century: 70% of the total production of corn is used for livestock

Corn and Biotechnology

In the decade of the 1920s research and application of theHeterosis effects: 1. Increased yield in comparison to parental

generation 2. high uniformity of the plants

Hybrid breeding: Following generation = sterileHenry A. Wallace (Secretary of Agriculture under Franklin D.

Roosevelt) began the first campaign for hybrid corn in 1926

Roosevelt: New Deal – intensification of agriculture through modern techniques

1941: hybrid corn on 40% of the cultivated areas1950: only hybrid corn in the USA

Original corn crops regions = red

Corn corps regions today = green