The Great Food Myth:
Which 3 crops feed the world?

Corn, wheat and rice are the three crops that provide for more than half of all food production in the world.

Find out more about the story if corn in North America.

 The Story of Corn in North America

The story of corn is a good example of the importance of diversity in food production.

When the Pilgrims arrived in New England, they were unable to grow the wheat and rye they brought with them. The local Native Americans showed them how to grow corn. It saved their lives.

The Native Americans literally worshipped corn. They thought it was important to keep the different kinds of corn plants separate. The European settlers thought differently. They began to mix different corn plants together, hoping to find the right mix for a "perfect" ear of corn.

In 1847, a farmer named Robert Reid accidentally mixed two types of corn and created a corn he called Reid's Yellow Dent. Years laster, his son showed it at the World's Fair, and it was a prize winner. Soon, farmers across the country planted Reid's Yellow Dent and nothing else. As a result, a great many other varieties of corn were simply not planted. They are now lost forever.
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