Final answer:
Maize (corn) has become a major staple food globally, essential for human and animal consumption and industrial uses. Globalization has led to the dominance of transnational corporations in food supply chains, creating a dependency on imported and engineered foods, reducing diet diversity, and raising health concerns.
Step-by-step explanation:
Diffusing across the globe, maize (corn) has become one of the world's major staple foods. Maize, developed 7,000 to 10,000 years ago in central Mexico, is currently the most important staple in the world, essential for both human and animal consumption, as well as industrial applications. This crop was selectively bred from its wild ancestor, teosinte, by ancient people, with its usage spreading across the Americas and eventually the world.
Globalization has transformed food from a local commodity to a transnational one, marked by complex production and distribution networks operated by transnational corporations. This transformation has reduced diversity in regional diets and ushered a dependency on imported foods, which are often preserved using additives. Furthermore, through genetic engineering, companies like Monsanto have created super-producer varieties of crops, leading to monopolies on seeds and affecting global food supply dynamics.
The international trade of food has a long history, growing from the spice trade to a vast network of global food chains. However, it has also meant that our food cultures have become less diverse, and we are more exposed to health risks from processed and engineered foods. Despite this, globalization has enabled a wide variety of cultural dishes to be available worldwide, illustrating the rich tapestry of food traditions that inform our diets today.