Although it is difficult to choose just the top three most important plants, corn, cotton, and rubber have proved to be the most influential.
Corn, being the most produced grain in the world, has immeasurable impacts on us today. It is a versatile crop that many different cultures have relied on. Presently, corn is a major food staple for most of sub-Saharan Africa. Across the globe, corn oil, meal, and syrup comprise various food products that are consumed in every country. Corn sweeteners can be found in a number of processed foods, making a huge impact on our diets.The downside of this is that high fructose corn syrup is shown to cause more weight gain in humans than sugar, linking the substance with obesity and diabetes. Corn is also used to feed livestock, thus a large portion of consumed corn is actually ingested indirectly through cattle, pigs, and chickens. Besides food, corn is now also used for ethanol production, causing much of a debate.
Now with cotton, we hardly even recognize how engrained it is in our lives. It is the most widespread profitable non-food crop in the world. Cotton’s production employs about 7% of all labor in developing countries and provides income for more than 250 million people. Clothing and household items account for the largest uses - cotton towels, sheets, jeans, shirts, and army uniforms. Cotton seed is used to feed cattle and crushed to make oil. The oil is used for cooking and makes up products such as soap, margarine, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and plastics. Thus it is clear to see how versatile and essential cotton is for just about everyone.
Last but not least, in today’s world, rubber is of major importance in various aspects of life. After vulcanization was discovered, it forever revolutionized the rubber industry as the material became stronger, more resilient and elastic, and less smelly. It is used in various industrial, household, and medical products; ranging from automobile, bicycle, and aircraft tires, shoe soles, hoses, erasers, to surgical gloves.Currently, there are over twenty different types of synthetic rubber, which is used in materials such as petroleum, crude oil, and different types of gases. Rubber is strong, long lasting, water and heat resistant- the properties that make it so beneficial and useful. It is approximated that every year there are about 4 million tons of natural rubber and 7 million tons of synthetic rubber produced to make over 500 million products that we use on a daily basis. These numbers prove just how ubiquitous rubber has become.
however, take a look at the negative impact of corn: http://www.stopforcefeeding.com/content/environmental-impact
Hey Andrea! Interesting read! I was wondering if you could touch upon some negative aspects of the massive cultivation of corn in other products. Is there too much corn production in the United States? What could be a substitute for all of the corn grain used to feed livestock?
ReplyDeleteHey Tim! Growing corn involves inefficient water usage, affects sensitive land areas and causes pesticide runoff. About 20% of corn is grown on land designated as highly erodible. Furthermore, environmentally-friendly crop rotation is no longer being implemented because of pesticide use and machine irrigation.The chemicals used in corn production also negatively impact the environment. There has definitely been a dramatic increase in corn production over the past 12 years in the United States.
ReplyDeleteA portion of the corn in the dairy cow’s diet can be substituted with alternative feeds. However, replacing all of the corn does not yield the same level of milk production. Some alternatives may include wheat middlings, turnips, sugar beet byproducts, and distiller grains.
Hi Andrea! I really enjoyed your post. I know Tim already asked about the negative aspects of corn production, but I was actually interested in the negative health outcomes associated with consumption of high fructose corn syrup. You mentioned that consumption of this product was a risk factor in obesity/diabetes. Are there other health problems that this product may put you at risk for?
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting Amanda! High fructose corn syrup is a major cause of heart disease, obesity, cancer, dementia, liver failure, tooth decay, and more. The production of HFCY allows the fructose to mainline directly into your liver, which turns on a production of fat, which leads to fatty liver. This affects 90 million Americans, in turn, leads to diabesity or pre-diabetes and Type 2 diabetes. Ultimately, high fructose corn syrup is the real driver of the current epidemic of heart attacks, strokes, cancer, dementia, and Type 2 diabetes.
ReplyDelete