Z-Maize: The plant that domesticated its domesticator

Rise of the Planet of the Apes. I never watched it, but it always terrified me that another plant or animal could potentially take over the planet and push us to extinction. Obviously, gun-slinging, arrow-shooting primates isn't an imminent threat we should be worried about. If you are convinced that it is, you may be watching a few too many sci-fi movies.

Anyhow, we always like to take pride in the fact that we are the most dominant species and the most intelligent. What we fail to take note of is that humans have survived mainly because plants evolved to create fruit, nuts, or some edible or useful substance that could benefit living creatures. In the old days we used to eat some fruit and would indirectly plant their seeds in other areas as we hunted for more food.

In the debate of ecology vs. economy we have seen that humans have a tendency to push for economy and this can be seen through corn. Corn subsidies (a guarantee that a farmer would receive $X even if the price of corn plummeted) made corn extremely cheap and plentiful. This paved the way for processed food, which led the way to the United States becoming the third most obese country in the world.

We allow food engineers to create foods that are putting more pressure on our organs (specifically kidneys and liver) and are toying with our neurological responses to nutrients that are supposed to be consumed in amounts that are produced organically. Drinking soda with high fructose corn syrup is a direct allowance of scientists to play with our taste buds and health for the sake of profit.

Corn does not do wonders for the soil and it definitely hasn’t truly done wonders for our society in a holistic sense. This quote, regarding us being the domesticated object really struck me because most people don’t stop and think about the consequences of perfecting the food process. The more efficient corn is, the more likely we are to plant it instead of other plants. This leads to a never ending cycle and once systems are set up to harvest and process corn they will end up being cheaper. This again leads us to keep producing corn because it keeps the price of other goods down.

If we truly are the most intelligent living organism on Earth, we haven’t been showing it. Our ecological future looks dismal and our industrial systems aren’t built for our benefit. We shouldn’t be worrying about an alien invasion. We should be worrying about an invasion from plants and other living organisms that can manipulate us to planting them or farming them across the world. They then push out other local plant varieties, leading us even closer to extinction.

The next great extinction is happening now whether you like to believe it or not.