There’s a reason people refer to corn as yellow gold. In 2021, the United States’ corn crop was worth over $86 billion. According to the USDA, the U.S. is the largest consumer, producer and exporter of corn in the world. It’s not just what we eat. Corn is in what we buy and how we fuel up. Now, the rest of the world relies on U.S. corn, too. At $2.2 billion in 2019, corn is the most heavily subsidized of all crops. Here’s how the U.S. started fueling its economy with corn.

Produced by: Andrea Miller
Graphics by: Alex Wood, Christina Locopo
Additional Camera by: Charlotte Morabito
Supervising Producer: Lindsey Jacobson

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Why The U.S. Government Is (Still) Obsessed With Corn