Corn is a widely grown crop globally, with annual production of about 817 million metric tons. The United States is the largest producer, though 40% of its harvest is used for ethanol production. Corn has been developed into many products for human and animal consumption, including corn meal, oil, flour, and starch. Maize, also known as corn, was domesticated in Mesoamerica and is a grain produced on stalks in ears. It has been a important crop for Mesoamerican civilizations and spread around the world after European contact.

2. Since a large portion of corn is grown for purposes other
than human consumption, corn is grown is vast amounts.
Corn is a widely grown crop. Global production of corn is
about 817 million metric tons. The US is the biggest
producer but 40% of the US harvest is used for ethanol.
The US ethanol program is a huge agricultural subsidy. US
refiners get 45 cents a gallon. At the same time there is a
54 cent a gallon tariff on imported ethanol. The subsidy
finally expired at the end of 2011.
Corn has been developed into a wide range of products.
Corn oil leaves corn meal etc. There is also corn flour and
corn starch.
See the staple nutrients page for complete nutritional
information

3. Maize is known in some English-speaking countries as corn, is a grain domesticated by
indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears
which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in
cooking as a starch. The Olmec and Mayans cultivated it in numerous varieties
throughout Mesoamerica, cooked, ground or processed through nixtamalization.
Beginning about 2500 BC, the crop spread through much of the Americas.[The region
developed a trade network based on surplus and varieties of maize crops. After European
contact with the Americas in the late 15th and early 16th centuries, explorers and traders
carried maize back to Europe and introduced it to other countries. Maize spread to the
rest of the world because of its ability to grow in diverse climates. Sugar-rich varieties
called sweet corn are usually grown for human consumption, while field corn varieties are
used for animal feed and as chemical feedstock's.