America Runs on... Corn

            I have finally landed on a topic for my junior theme project. In my paper, I plan to explore the impact that corn has on the US economy as well as the farmers. The corn industry itself has become very powerful in the US, especially in the last 50 years. According to the USDA, consumption of corn products has nearly doubled since the 1950s, and consumption of corn sweeteners, such as high fructose corn syrup,(which didn't even exist until the 1970s) has increased by about 700 percent.

Clearly, our economy wouldn’t be the same without corn. However, although corn is used a lot in food, the majority of it is used in ethanol. According to a blog I read, “for every 10 ears of corn grown in the U.S., two are consumed by humans, and the other eight are used for feed and fuel.” So although our nation consumes many more corn products in out diets, we are actually burning right through it a much more rapid rate in the fuel tanks of our cars.

There are many pros and cons to the use of ethanol. Many are included in this video, which should give a clear picture of what ethanol is and the impact that it has or has potential to have on our society.

In summary, ethanol has made a huge impact on our society. Corn production rates have gone through the roof. The US government is also closely considering the sustained production of ethanol as a way to benefit our society.

Why should or shouldn’t the US look at ethanol as a major fuel supply? How will the increased production of ethanol affect the corn industry?