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How Corn Changed Itself and then Changed Everything Else

with Cynthia Clampitt

Food historian Cynthia Clampitt will present the compelling history of corn, how it transformed the Americas, and its impact on the creation of the historic Midwest.

About 10,000 years ago, a mutating grass in Mexico began transforming life in the Americas. After First Contact, it spanned the globe but also fueled westward expansion in North America. This is a tale of pioneers, entrepreneurs, and growing cities, but also of vampires, whiskey, time zones, the Chicago Bears—and life as we know it. As Margaret Visser noted in Much Depends on Dinner, “Without corn, North America—and most particularly modern, technological North America—is inconceivable.”

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