Need help with maize

[Guest Newt]

Originally posted by Bruno Broughton:

Most of the maize we buy as dry seeds (in the US = 'corn') is fodder maize/corn, used for feeding livestock.

 

Bruno - and usually referred to over here as "field corn" and "sweet corn" because we like to keep things simple (or are simple minded - dunno which).

 

... In 1998/99 the United States exported 47.2 million tons of maize, equivalent to about 72% of the maize traded worldwide (65.2 million tons). Eighty percent of the maize imported into the EU originates from the United States.

which sounds fine except that we are getting screams of rage from Greenpeace and other groups for exporting genetically altered strains.

 

Horrible thing to do isn't it. Make strains like the one that is very resistant to the corn borer (awk - less chemicals required to grow a crop) "... genetically modified form of maize that protects itself against the corn-borer larva by producing the Bt protein of Bacillus thuringiensis in its leaves, stem, and pollen – hence the name Bt maize. Thus when the larva begins to bore its way into the plant, it dies."

 

BTW - lunitic fringe groups notwithstanding, the BT variety is fine for humans, livestock, and fish.