Navigating the "Maize": Simplifying the Modern Supermarket

Photo by Bernard Hermant on Unsplash

31,704 

     Thirty-one thousand, seven hundred and four. That was the average amount of “stock keeping units” – SKUs for short – being sold in U.S. supermarkets in 2023 (Source: FMI). With so many options, one would think we have a veritable cornucopia of nutrition available to us. However, there is a lot less variety in our modern markets than we might think. Hiding in plain sight, on so many of the food labels, is a single ingredient – corn.

Corn, the Colonizer Crop

     For more than 1,000 years Zea Mays, or “corn” as it is popularly known, has been feeding humans. According to author Michael Pollan, this once wild grass “is the hero of its own story, and though we humans played a crucial supporting role in its rise to world domination, it would be wrong to suggest we have been calling the shots…Indeed, there is every reason to believe that corn has succeeded in domesticating us” (Pollan 23). That is a strange thought, is it not? That a plant could force us to meet its needs? And yet, that is in many ways what has happened as we have grown increasingly dependent on corn to feed our burgeoning populations.

       What is so unique about corn? Why did it succeed where other crops have failed? First of all, Michael Pollan says, it possesses a “prodigious genetic variability” which has allowed it to “adapt rapidly to…virtually every microclimate in North America” (Pollan 25). Second, the way corn plants reproduce allowed humans to control the means of production. This was true even before the days of genetic modification in a lab. Hybridization – the interbreeding of two different species of corn – produced seeds which would only replicate results in the first generation. Thus, seed companies were able to obtain the functional equivalent of a “biological patent.” A third reason corn has succeeded is its comparatively high yield. Even before the days of hybridization or genetic modification, a single corn seed could yield 180 to 300 kernels, which was three to six times as much yield as a wheat seed could produce, even in ideal conditions. Today, a modern farmer can, by planting a single acre of corn, reap a yield of as much as 20,000 lbs. (Source: Pioneer) Needless to say, corn plants are prolific.  

Corn Conquers the Supermarket

     As corn yields have increased over the decades, so have its uses. While 40-50% of U.S. usage has little to do with food consumption, the remaining 50-60% shows up in our supermarkets in one form or another (Source: NebraskCorn.gov). From AppleJacks to Zevia, corn shows up in many of the 31, 704 SKUs carried in the average grocery store. Some of those are obvious: corn tortillas, cornmeal, corn starch, corn syrup, etc. Corn is right there in the name. But what about the not-so-obvious places?

     According to Nebraskacorn.gov, approximately 40% of U.S. corn finds its way into the stomachs of farm animals. This means that corn can show up, albeit indirectly, in your chicken, beef, pork, turkey, and even your salmon, believe it or not (Source: MindBodyGreen). Where else does corn show up? Here’s a list (Source: The Ingredient Guru):

-         Ascorbic Acid

-         Baking Powder

-         Brown Sugar

-         Calcium Citrate

-         Caramel

-         Cellulose

-         Citrate

-         Citric Acid

-         Decyl Glucoside

-         Dextrin, Maltodextrin

-         Dextrose

-         Ferrous Gluconate

-         Flavoring

-         Golden Syrup

-         Honey

-         Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein (HVP)

-         Iodized Salt

-         Lactic Acid

-         Magnesium Citrate

-         Magnesium Stearate

-         Malic Acid

-         Malt/Malt Flavoring

-         Maltitol

-         Maltose

-         Mannitol

-         Methyl Gluceth

-         Modified Food Starch

-         Monosodium Glutamate (MSG)

-         Polydextrose

Are you tired yet? Here’s some more.

-         Polysorbates

-         Potassium Citrate

-         Powdered Sugar

-         Saccharin

-         Sodium Citrate

-         Sodium Erythorbate

-         Sodium Starch Glycolate

-         Sorbitan

-         Sorbitan Monostearate

-         Sorbitol

-         Starch

Seriously – am I finished yet?!

-         Sucralose

-         Sweet’N Low

-         Vanilla Extract

-         Vinegar, Distilled White

-         Xantham Gum

-         Xylitol

And FINALLY….

-         ZEIN!!

      Honestly, until I researched this, I had no idea. On the one hand, at least part of the mystery of those ingredients we can’t pronounce is solved – IT’S CORN! Granted, its not only corn, but still – the magnificent Maize is in all of that. From Ascorbic Acid to the – I’ve-never-heard-of-this-before Zein, corn, corn, corn.

 

Conclusion: Informed Consumption

      Okay, so now what? We have learned that there is a lot of corn in our local grocery stores, even making its way into our salmon patties and turkey burgers. We’ve also pulled back the curtain a bit on some unexpected places in which corn shows up on those mysterious ingredient lists that show up on everything from Applesauce to zucchini fries. What should we do with this knowledge? Should we avoid corn products? Should we eat as much as we want? She we eat only raw corn straight off the stalk?

     Lizzie Streit (MS, RDN, LD), writing for Healthline.com, has some helpful insight to offer. She says that “Corn is high in carbs and packed with fiber, vitamins and minerals. It’s also relatively low in protein and fat.” While the glucose in corn can certainly raise your blood sugar, the fiber can help to offset that. This is, of course, in its “raw” state. The more processing corn undergoes, the fewer nutrients it has to offer. Corn syrup, for example, can offer little more than empty calories, much like processed cane sugar.

      The bigger problem, however, could be in the meat aisle. For animals such as cows or salmon, corn is not a natural part of their diet. They have not really evolved to digest it effectively. I’ll leave a discussion of the ethics of industrialized meat production for another day, but suffice it to say, I recommend choosing to eat meat from animals who have eaten food as close to their natural diets as possible.

    In summary, it seems the wisest course to is to stick to eating minimally processed corn products. When in doubt, check the ingredients list. Now that you know better where corn might “pop up,” you can make informed decisions about how best to diversify your diet. 

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