The story of corn
Young American Arick Baker fell into an enormous corn silo and almost
died. Luckily, he was discovered and rescued in time.
Did you know that corn production plays a huge role in the economy of
the United States? The country is one of the worldwide corn leaders with
96,000,000 acres (39,000,000 ha) of land reserved for corn production.
Corn is cheap and it is used in all sorts of things. Do the web task and
find out more about the importance of corn.
A) The story of corn
Go to http://www.campsilos.org/ and click on ‘The Story of corn'. Read ‘Introduction to the story of corn'.
Answer the questions.
1
When and by whom was corn ‘discovered'?
2
Did people in North America eat corn before Columbus came? Explain your answer.
3
When was corn introduced to the rest of the world?
4
What is ‘hybrid' corn and what are the benefits?
5
What used to be the main corn product up until 1900? What is this in Dutch?
Now go to ‘The story of corn for students' and click on ‘History detective'. Answer the questions.
6
What is meant with ‘corn is a human invention'?
7
What kind of plant was corn originally?
8
What's another name for corn?
B) Quick facts
Stay on http://www.campsilos.org/ and click on ‘Quick facts'. Answer the questions in Dutch.
1
Hoeveel korrels zitten er gemiddels op een maiskolf?
2
Hoe verhoudt de maisproductie in de USA zich tot andere gewassen?
3
Wat gebeurt er met het grootste deel van de mais uit Iowa?
4
In welke etenswaren wordt vooral veel mais gebruikt?
5
Waar wordt mais o.a. nog meer voor gebruikt?
6
Welke staten produceren de meeste mais?
7
Hoe wordt het gebied waar veel mais wordt geproduceerd ook wel genoemd?
8
Waar wordt mais niet verbouwd?
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9
Wat is de snelstgroeiende afzetmarkt voor mais uit de USA?
10
Hoeveel van de totale maisproductie wordt geëxporteerd?
C) Corny quiz questions
Now go to ‘Scavenger hunt', scroll down and test your knowledge by doing the ‘corny quiz'.
D) Corn: good or bad?
Read this article about sweetcorn and answer the questions.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/26/corn-health-myths-nutrition_n_5591977.html
1
Which ‘corn product' is this article about?
2
Why do some people think that sweetcorn is unhealthy?
3
Is an ‘ear of corn' good for you? Why (not)?
4
What's the difference between sweet corn and field corn?
5
What is the main idea of this article?
Now read this article online and answer the questions. http://www.usnews.com/news/50-ways-to-improveyour-life/articles/2007/12/17/health-reasons-to-cut-back-on-corn-consumption
6
According to this article, ‘The American food supply, in fact, is awash in corn.' What does this mean?
7
Who is responsible for the enormous corn harvests in America?
8
What kind of corn is this article about?
9
What is the connection between corn, teenagers and soft drinks?
10
What is the effect of too much corn syrup for the US population?
11
Why is cattle often corn-fed?
12
Is beef from corn-fattened cattle good for you? Explain your answer.
13
What is the main idea of this article?
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