The history of the world according to corn - Chris A. Kniesly

譯者: Lilian Chiu 審譯者: Helen Chang

Corn currently accounts for more than one tenth of our global crop production.

目前，全球的作物產品中， 玉米就佔了十分之一。

The United States alone has enough cornfields to cover Germany.

光是在美國的玉米田加起來 就足以覆蓋整個德國。

But while other crops we grow come in a range of varieties,

雖然我們所種植的 其他作物十分多樣化，

over 99% of cultivated corn is the exact same type: Yellow Dent #2.

但栽種的玉米中 99%

都屬於同一類：馬齒型玉米 #2。

This means that humans grow more Yellow Dent #2

這就表示，人類種植的馬齒型玉米

比地球上的所有 其他植物都還要多。

than any other plant on the planet.

So how did this single variety of this single plant

所以，為什麼這單一種 植物的單一種類別

become the biggest success story in agricultural history?

會成為農業史上最成功的故事？

Nearly 9,000 years ago, corn, also called maize,

近九千年前，人類初次從墨西哥類蜀黍 （一種中部美洲原生的草）

was first domesticated from teosinte, a grass native to Mesoamerica.

培養出玉米，也稱為玉蜀黍。

Teosinte’s rock-hard seeds were barely edible,

墨西哥類蜀黍的種子跟石頭 一樣硬，幾乎不能吃，

but its fibrous husk could be turned into a versatile material.

但它富含纖維的外皮可以被 轉製成一種多功能的材料。

Over the next 4,700 years, farmers bred the plant into a staple crop,

在接下來的四千七百年間，

農夫將這種植物育成有更大穗軸

with larger cobs and edible kernels.

和可食用玉米粒的主要日常作物，

As maize spread throughout the Americas, it took on an important role,

隨著玉蜀黍散播到全美， 它開始扮演重要的角色，

with multiple indigenous societies revering a “Corn Mother”

有數個原住民社會都 崇拜「玉米之母」，

as the goddess who created agriculture.

認為她是創造農業的女神。

When Europeans first arrived in America, they shunned the strange plant.

初抵美洲的歐洲人 避開這種奇怪的植物。

Many even believed it was the source of physical and cultural differences

許多人甚至相信 他們和中部美洲人

在實體上和文化上的差別 來源就是這種植物。

between them and the Mesoamericans.

However,

their attempts to cultivate European crops in American soil quickly failed,

然而，他們嘗試在美洲的土壤上 耕種歐洲作物卻很快就碰到挫敗，

and the settlers were forced to expand their diet.

這些移居者被迫要 擴展他們的飲食範圍。

Finding the crop to their taste, maize soon crossed the Atlantic,

他們發現玉蜀黍很合口味， 很快就把它傳過大西洋，

where its ability to grow in diverse climates made it a popular grain

它能夠在各種氣候下生長的能力，

讓它很快在許多歐洲國家中 成為熱門的穀物，

in many European countries.

But the newly established United States was still the corn capital of the world.

但，新建國的美國仍然是 世界上的玉米大國。

In the early 1800’s, different regions across the country

1800 年代初，美國各地

produced strains of varying size and taste.

生產出各種不同的大小和口味。

In the 1850’s, however,

然而在 1850 年代，

these unique varieties proved difficult for train operators to package,

事實證明這些獨特的品種 很難用火車包裝運送，

and for traders to sell.

商人也很難販售它們。

Trade boards in rail hubs like Chicago encouraged corn farmers

鐵路中心都市如芝加哥的貿易公會

鼓勵玉米農培育出 一種標準的作物。

to breed one standardized crop.

This dream would finally be realized at 1893’s World’s Fair,

這個夢想到了 1893 年的 世界博覽會終於實現了，

where James Reid’s yellow dent corn won the Blue Ribbon.

在世博，詹姆士 · 里德的 馬齒型玉米贏了藍絲帶獎。

Over the next 50 years, yellow dent corn swept the nation.

在接下來五十年， 馬齒型玉米橫掃全國。

Following the technological developments of World War II,

在二次大戰的技術發展之後，

mechanized harvesters became widely available.

機械收割機被廣為使用。

This meant a batch of corn that previously took a full day to harvest by hand

這就表示，以前要花一整天 靠人工收割的一批玉米，

could now be collected in just 5 minutes.

現在只要五分鐘就能收集完成。

Another wartime technology, the chemical explosive ammonium nitrate,

另一項戰時的技術是 化學爆破物硝酸銨，

also found new life on the farm.

在農田上也找到了新用途。

With this new synthetic fertilizer,

有這新的合成肥料，

farmers could plant dense fields of corn year after year,

農夫不需要輪耕作物 以恢復土壤中的氮，

without the need to rotate their crops and restore nitrogen to the soil.

就可以一年接著一年 密集種植玉米。

While these advances made corn an attractive crop to American farmers,

雖然這些進步，讓玉米變成 很吸引美國農夫的作物，

US agricultural policy limited the amount farmers could grow

美國農業政策會限制 農夫能夠種植的量，

to ensure high sale prices.

以確保高售價。

But in 1972, President Richard Nixon removed these limitations

但在 1972 年，尼克森總統 廢除了這些限制，

while negotiating massive grain sales to the Soviet Union.

因為他在協商 將大量穀物銷售至蘇聯。

With this new trade deal and WWII technology,

有這項新的貿易協議 以及二次大戰的技術，

corn production exploded into a global phenomenon.

全球爆出一股玉米生產熱。

These mountains of maize inspired numerous corn concoctions.

有這些大量的玉米 導致產出許多玉米混合調製品。

Cornstarch could be used as a thickening agent for everything from gasoline to glue

玉米澱粉可以當作增稠劑， 用在各種地方，從汽油到膠水，

or processed into a low-cost sweetener known as High-Fructose Corn Syrup.

或者加工成為低成本的增甜劑，

即一般所知的高果糖漿。

Maize quickly became one of the cheapest animal feeds worldwide.

玉蜀黍很快變成全世界 最便宜的動物飼料。

This allowed for inexpensive meat production,

這讓肉類生產的價格降低，

which in turn increased the demand for meat and corn feed.

接著就造成肉類 和玉米餇料的需求增加。

Today, humans eat only 40% of all cultivated corn,

現今人類只吃掉 栽種玉米總量的四成，

while the remaining 60% supports consumer good industries worldwide.

剩下的六成用來支援 世界各地的消費品產業。

Yet the spread of this wonder-crop has come at a price.

但這種神奇作物的散播， 背後也是有代價的。

Global water sources are polluted by excess ammonium nitrate from cornfields.

玉米田多餘的硝酸銨污染全球水源。

Corn accounts for a large portion of agriculture-related carbon emissions,

和農業相關的碳排放 很大一部分由玉米造成，

partly due to the increased meat production it enables.

部分原因是玉米讓肉類生產增加。

The use of high fructose corn syrup may be a contributor to diabetes and obesity.

使用高果糖漿也可能 會造成糖尿病和肥胖。

And the rise of monoculture farming

而單一栽培農業的興起，

has left our food supply dangerously vulnerable to pests and pathogens—

讓我們的食物供應非常脆弱， 會受到害蟲和病原體的危害——

a single virus could infect the world’s supply of this ubiquitous crop.

單一種病毒就可以感染這種 無所不在的作物在全世界的供應。

Corn has gone from a bushy grass

玉米從濃密的禾本科植物

to an essential element of the world’s industries.

變成了世界產業的一個必要元素。

But only time will tell if it has led us into a maze of unsustainability.

但，只有時間才知道，

它是否將我們引入了 一個不永續的迷宮當中。