Corn and Capitalism: How a Botanical Bastard Grew to Global Dominance
Corn and Capitalism: How a Botanical Bastard Grew to Global Dominance
The University of North Carolina Press | January 17, 2007 | ISBN-10: 0807854379 | 288 pages | PDF | 5.84 MB
The University of North Carolina Press | January 17, 2007 | ISBN-10: 0807854379 | 288 pages | PDF | 5.84 MB
The book, first published in Mexico in 1988, combines approaches from anthropology, social history, and political economy to tell the story of corn, a "botanical bastard" of unclear origins that cannot reseed itself and is instead dependent on agriculture for propagation. Beginning in the Americas, Warman depicts corn as colonizer. Disparaged by the conquistadors, this Native American staple was embraced by the destitute of the Old World. In time, corn spread across the globe as a prodigious food source for both humans and livestock. Warman also reveals corn's role in nourishing the African slave trade.