It’s the ethanol in gas, hand soap, adhesives, chewing gum, paints and fireworks, most medication, makeup and so on and so on.
In: Chemistry
Corn is a grain native to the American continents, and the US produces well over a 1/3 of all corn in the world.
The reason the US produces so much corn is because it is cheap, abundant, easy to grow and has a diversity of uses. Because of that, the US government pays farmers to grow corn, making it even cheaper and ensuring more reliable crops.
Why do they do this? In the 1930s, there was starvation in the US due to the Dust Bowl (massive crop failures) and the Great Depression (massive economic failures).
The goal was to stabilize food supplies, and corn was one of the most important crops to do it. Throughout the next 100 years, Americans doubled down on corn (and a few other crops, like soybeans, wheat and rice) because of their ability to ensure reliable harvests and food access.
So if you’re an American company looking to make food, you’re going to use as much corn as possible because it’s artificially cheap. The US government subsidizes the price, which means you can sell your goods cheaper and/or pocket a higher profit margin.
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