The Corn Belt

My apartment is populated by lots of untraditionally hued vegetables right now. I am irresistably attracted to them in supermarkets. Green and yellow and purple heirloom tomatoes, the aforementioned "rainbow" carrots, and red corn. Vibrant colors in nature are indicative of poison- but we're also supposed to "eat our colors." I'm not touching my tongue to one of those little dart frogs. Maybe the difference is flora versus fauna.

My dinner tonight (I know it's only 4:05 p.m. Daylight Dining penalty!) is a bowl of fresh red corn and onions sauteed in butter, and a bowl of sliced grape tomatoes, cucumber and minced garlic tossed in olive oil and a little balsamic vinegar, sprinkled with feta cheese.

I cook every day, and you might think that this means I like to cook. It's not true, I just like to chop vegetables. The aftermath of chopping vegetables, without cooking, is just a pile of compost, and people standing around shrugging at each other. Luckily I have learned to adapt.

On the topic of corn, which is in season right now and also stuck in my teeth, there is much conflict. I wouldn't be surprised if the American health food community had many negative associations with corn, since our country has proven so reckless in the farming and use of this crop.

Basically the US federal government spends billions of dollars every year on corn subsidies, which result in massive surplusses and the opportunity to cheaply refine corn into syrups, oil and meal. Our livestock is corn-fed, which means that almost all of our meat and dairy contains corn's carbon footprint.

The following disturbing sentence appeared on a 'quick facts' website about corn: "Your bacon and egg breakfast, glass of milk with lunch, or hamburger for supper were all produced with U.S. corn." It sounds boastful, but I think it's scary. Most people know that variety is one of the keys to good nutrition, yet our government is funding programs that insert corn and its byproducts into a shocking percentage of commercially available foods. That can of 7UP you had the other day was made with corn. So was that filet mignon. And that bowl of ice cream, on account of the corn-fed dairy AND the high fructose corn syrup-- double trouble! Once you start breaking it down, it's frightening. It seems like the only way to avoid corn is to refuse everything that comes in a box, bag, carton, wrapper, styrofoam tray and of course, husk.

But the complicating issue is that corn as a whole food is very good for you- a whole grain on par with whole wheat or brown rice. One cup has almost a fifth of your daily recommended fiber, plus some tasty B vitamins and manganese. And like tomatoes, potatoes and carrots, it comes in all manner of blues and reds and yellows. So enjoy your summer corn cob, but remember that this is happening in our very own corn belt. I guess be aware that we have a "corn belt" at all, which sounds something like a galaxy in scope and importance.