Corn, also known as maize, is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. The leafy stalk of the plant produces pollen inflorescences and separate ovuliferous inflorescences called ears that yield kernels or seeds, which are fruits.
Corn has become a staple food in many parts of the world, with the total production of corn surpassing that of wheat or rice. In addition to being consumed directly by humans (often in the form of masa), corn is also used for corn ethanol, animal feed and other corn products, such as corn starch and corn syrup. The six major types of corn are dent corn, flint corn, pod corn, popcorn, flour corn, and sweet corn. Sugar-rich varieties called sweet corn are usually grown for human consumption as kernels, while field corn varieties are used for animal feed, various corn-based human food uses (including grinding into cornmeal or masa, pressing into corn oil, and fermentation and distillation into alcoholic beverages like bourbon whiskey), and as chemical feedstocks. Corn is also used in making ethanol and other biofuels.
Corn is widely cultivated throughout the world, and a greater weight of corn is produced each year than any other grain. In 2014, total world production was 1.04 billion tonnes. Corn is the most widely grown grain crop throughout the Americas, with 361 million metric tons grown in the United States alone in 2014. Genetically modified corn made up 85% of the corn planted in the United States in 2009. Subsidies in the United States help to account for the high level of cultivation of corn in the United States and the fact that the U.S. is the world's largest corn producer.
The susceptibility of corn to Yukkuris, and the resulting large crop losses which are estimated at quintillions of zimbabwean dollars worldwide for each yu, led to the development of yukkuricide expressing the Id'z Poizon Toxic. "Fake food" such as shown in post #83819 is widely grown in the Yukkuriverse and has been approved for release in Gensokyo.
