No more corn -- consequences

[kenobi_65]

@Projammer

No one’s considered that Tony would be out of a job?

“Frosted (Sorghum) Flakes: they’re OKAAAAAAAAAAY!”

[PoppaSan]

@Jonathan_Chance

Hmm. Looking things up, we’d lose the bourbon industry as well…

Damn

@silenus

No bourbon? Life isn’t worth living anymore…

My sentiments exactly

@Jonathan_Chance

Dude, so long as there’s sugar cane we have rum. Life will go on.

Easy for you to say. At least Bud will stop their no corn syrup in our beer ads.

@Bayaker

With a little time sorghum could take up a lot of the slack, both as livestock feed and sweetener. We already produce lots of it, so it would be a matter of ramping up to fill in the corn gap. It also has better drought and heat resistance than corn.

I hadn’t thought of this plant. Cane and sugar beets crossed my mind.

@ftg

Yeah, livestock would take a big hit. Beef, pork, chicken, etc. prices would increase dramatically. People replacing those with vegetable choices would drive up the price of many varieties of beans.

This I had considered. I know the venison I hunt won’t be corn fattened either. Might taste like venison again.

While a few farmers here and there switching crops doesn’t affect the prices of the farm equipment necessary to farm the new crops, having so very, very many farmers switching at the same time would prevent most from getting the new equipment for a while.
Plus their existing equipment for planting and harvesting corn would still need to be paid off. More than a few farmers will go under.

Most of the larger farmers I know already have equipment for multiple crops. Many units just change out the harvesting head or the plates that meter out the seed. The actual machines run about the same.

In areas of some 3rd world countries there would be near famine, and in certain borderline areas such as in the Sahel there could be a full famine.

I knew some places would be flat out devastated. Just didn’t know where. Figured Iowa and Argentina would survive.

@Heracles

This recent article in The Atlantic focuses on allergy to corn, and indirectly gives an idea of how many foods and other objects use it in some form. Of course, other sources could replace corn in most of these uses, but it wouldn’t be instantaneous.

This article was what I was looking for. Did not know the derivatives and other usages. Some of these would be replaced with other products for a small cost. I’m sure the mold for citric acid could be encouraged to grow on sugar.