Dear Editor: Corn!

Dear Editor,

Let me start by saying that corn used to be my most favored vegetable when it came to canned veggies, anyway.

When I had good teeth, I would devour corn-on-the-cob like it was going out of style back in the day. Even to this day, I like my cornbread made with...you guessed it...creamed corn. But here’s where we come to the crux of the matter.

It’s no big secret that corn, the delicious vegetable that saved our Pilgrim forefathers from starvation, has little to no nutritional value! Furthermore, studies have shown that the individual kernels, or at least the delicious shell, don’t break down in the digestive tract. Pretty gross, right? I’m certainly no scientist, but even I can tell you that it’s fodder (filler) for the human animal.

Not to get too graphic here, but I’m pretty sure that all the corn we’ve ingested over our lifetime, though it may have acted as pretty decent roughage, hasn’t made it out of our fairly expansive digestive tracts! Then, on top of that, we are witnessing a growing number of food allergies, not least of which probably is...you guessed right again...CORN.

I’m not saying that all obese people are so because of corn, but I would be highly tempted to say that it’s because of some food allergy. Whether it’s corn, wheat, or some other form of nutrition, or malnutrition - whatever the case may be. It’s not the poor veggie’s fault! Or the wheat, for that matter.

I’m sure the corn the American Indians supplied the Pilgrims with was much more nutritious than the poor excuse for a veggie we have now. So, what’s the difference? Genetic modification is the difference!

A Google search would quickly show anyone who cared to look when and where GMOs had their beginning. I’m sure I don’t need to tell you that a plant modified to resist pests or extreme weather will likely have a similar effect on our insides.

Now, before I go too far or too long, I will end this letter with an invitation. Think about what I’ve written here, and if it hits a nerve, please respond in kind. Let me know if you think I’m wrong and, if so, why!

Charles Haddon Shank

Whitehall, Montana