Married to Man. The Omnivore's Dilemma - Essay Example

Both the new and Native Americans totally depend on corn. In other words, it may be said that corn is married to a man. This explains its existence up to this time in life. Were it not for the continued planting of the same corn season after season by man, it would have experienced extinction. This article looks at how corn and man enable one another to survive and reproduce. Corn is found in husks and requires processing to separate the grains from the husk. This means that the grains are set free and can thus be grown and processed more easily on their own.

This is where the human aspect comes in place. Man has come up with machines such as combined harvesters that separate the corn from the cob. Another method of separating the corn from the cob is by the use of the opposable thumb that is a characteristic in man. This therefore, brings out the dependence of the corn on man with opposable thumb. Corn, while still in the cob cannot grow into maturity. It may germinate but due to overcrowding, the young plants thin out and eventually die. Thus, for proper reproduction of the corn, there is husk removal, seed separation and planting.

If the whole corncob were planted, it would germinate and move out of the husk, they would crowd up and may be die before having their second and third set of leaves. Corn hence, require assistance to grow more than any other domesticated plant. Therefore, corn depends on the humans more than the humans depend on it. For instance, man can decide not to consume any corn by avoiding planting it. At the same time, corn cannot decide on whom to have it planted. The marriage between man and corn can be viewed from the perspective of man having first domesticated the wild plant.

This was later followed by selection and breeding of the best variety, were it not for man, it would be wild up to now (Pollan, 2007). Among the highly valued cereals by man is corn that in some countries is called maize. Corn has many uses more than any other cereal. One of the uses is making grits. In Africa and some parts of Asia, the grits from maize are ingested by humans. For instance in central and eastern Africa, the grits are used to make a staple food called ugali. This food is easily made and readily consumed with wide range vegetables.

Grits can also be used to make porridge that is highly consumed by young children especially in Africa and some parts of Asia. This food product is believed to provide energy to the children who have higher energy requirements in general. Corn can also be used to make bi fuel. This is presently being done in the US of and is hastily replacing the fuels that are pollutants of the atmosphere. Corn is preferred to refined oil because of its availability and environmentally sound aspects. It is also used to make the brewers grits that are used in the beer industry.

This is because it contains starches and sugars that undergo fermentation when provided with the required conditions. The medicine industry also makes utilize corn in their processed form. Liquids sugar is made from corn. Its use is to make syrups and serves the purpose of sweetening them. The confectionary industry makes use of the corn sugar in sweetening their products. Without such sugar, their products may not be accepted. This may lead to losses especially on the part of the manufacturer.

Having looked at the two sides of the issue of marriage to man, I take a stand that, it is the corn that is dependent on