Farmers step in

[5keepers2]

Many moons ago when I was little Daddy always planted
several acres of corn to feed livestock during Winter.
Before corn matured we always pulled a few ears for corn
on the cob. I loved it and still do.
I got to thinking the corn they grow today for ethanol that
has been genetically modified. Can this corn be eaten by humans
and/or livestock?
I guess I know it can be eaten but is it ok or do they
recommend against eating it?
Just inquiring mind today looking at all the large corn fields around
our area.

[buster502]

the ears are 2 feet long and not worth eating.there is 500 acre of the nasty stuff out my back door,not worth stealing a few ears lol

[darryl1966]

there is no difference in corn for feed and corn for ethanol, most all corn is GMO to some extent , round up resistant is the most comman for of gmo, Sweet corn is for human consumption, and it is different. meant to be eat at the kitchen table, as for pulling a few ears of field corn , it is safe to eat , but not going to near as good as sweet corn , even if pullled during the soft stage .

[Bassman Ia.]

Field corn

ethanol
Fritos and other chips
corn syrup
and most everything made out of corn or byproducts of corn

[wildturkey]

Not as sweet to our tastes, maybe "drier" so to speak chewy. Probably not going to make you sick. I think they make animal feed with the leftovers from ethanol production.

[Hoot]

Not as sweet to our tastes, maybe "drier" so to speak chewy. Probably not going to make you sick. I think they make animal feed with the leftovers from ethanol production.

You are correct the gluten left over from Ethanol production is used for livestock feed mostly in cattle rations as cattle with their multi stomached ruminant digestive system can utilize it the best. A lot of the Ethanol plants are located in area where there are a lot cattle on feed so they don't have to waste money on natural gas dehydrating a lot of the gluten to make it into a drier product that can be shipped via rail car.

[JTN]

You can eat field corn and it won't hurt you a bit, but it doesn't have much taste, pretty bland, sweat corn on the hand...that's good stuff I plant a big patch with the planter every spring, and plant small plots in my garden spaced out every 3-4 weeks till about the tenth of July,when ours is ready we eat lots of it,and freeze about 35 quarts for winter.

[cowtrimmer]

I got to thinking the corn they grow today for ethanol that
has been genetically modified.

The corn you ate years ago was genetically modified. GMO corn gets a bad rap IMO because most of the research done is patented by one company,Monsanto. If there are two things that some people love to gravitate to and thats the hate of a big corporation and a conspiracy theory.

[artcarney_agr]

The corn you ate years ago was genetically modified. GMO corn gets a bad rap IMO because most of the research done is patented by one company,Monsanto. If there are two things that some people love to gravitate to and thats the hate of a big corporation and a conspiracy theory.

[artcarney_agr]

Field corn is the tasteless stuff, been that way for a long time.

Many old timers I've talked to in the past preferred field corn to sweet corn...I never could understand that one!

[artcarney_agr]

The corn you ate years ago was genetically modified. GMO corn gets a bad rap IMO because most of the research done is patented by one company,Monsanto. If there are two things that some people love to gravitate to and thats the hate of a big corporation and a conspiracy theory.

This!

Monsanto is who held the patent on glyphosate, which they label as Roundup, and modified corn and other crops to be able to withstand applications of it. They've made a lot of money with glyphosate and supporting products.

Roundup = Monsanto

[mean_dean]

You can eat field corn and it won't hurt you a bit, but it doesn't have much taste, pretty bland, sweat corn on the hand...that's good stuff I plant a big patch with the planter every spring, and plant small plots in my garden spaced out every 3-4 weeks till about the tenth of July,when ours is ready we eat lots of it,and freeze about 35 quarts for winter.

I'll be over to help pick a few bushels!

[Dando]

Many moons ago when I was little Daddy always planted
several acres of corn to feed livestock during Winter.
Before corn matured we always pulled a few ears for corn
on the cob. I loved it and still do.
I got to thinking the corn they grow today for ethanol that
has been genetically modified. Can this corn be eaten by humans
and/or livestock?
I guess I know it can be eaten but is it ok or do they
recommend against eating it?
Just inquiring mind today looking at all the large corn fields around
our area.

They catch you with sticky fangers, modified or not, they'll still shoot!

[Jeffyp]

When I was young, Id take off groundhog hunting through the fields of western Pennsylvania. Never thought to bring something to drink. I would pick the baby field corn ears when they were about 3 or 4 inches long, to quench my thirst. Great taste too.

[CatFan]

Easy trick to tell whether field corn or any sweet corn is going to be good to eat. Shuck an ear and take a bite of it raw. If it's sweet raw, it's good to eat. If it's starchy or tough raw, it won't get any better when you cook it.

[Ranchhand02]

Field corn also has a dent in the end of the kernel where as sweet corn does not.

[NoCAL]

Hi Guys, Plant Molecular Biologist here. Used to work for Monsanto. Here is the skinny:

Sweet corn has a natural mutation which does not allow it to convert sugar to starch. Sugar builds up and the taste is sweet. Grown on about 700K acres around the country. A small percentage of it has been genetically modified to resist insects and Roundup application. Sweet corn is typically sprayed 1-2 times per week for bugs. The genetically modified doesn't need insecticide applications. It was first modified by Syngenta about 16 years ago, then by Monsanto about 6 years ago.

Field or dent corn is the "Natural" state of corn. All sugar gets converted to starch. Mostly used for feed, ethanol, HFCS, cornstarch, and about 1000 other things. Grown on over 90 million acres and 90% is GMO. It was first modified over 20 years ago.

There is no patent on glyphosate anymore. Roundup is a trademarked name for the glyphosate formulation sold by Monsanto but there are many other companies that make and sell it. Let me know if you have any other questions.

NoCAL

[CatFan]

Field corn also has a dent in the end of the kernel where as sweet corn does not.

If you don't get it before the dent forms, it won't taste worth a crap.