[elgenie]

Only 1% of the corn grown in the US is "sweet corn", i.e. corn that's meant for direct human consumption on the cob or canned. The other 99% is "field corn", and that gets used primarily in livestock feeds and ethanol (the latter being a subsidy boondoggle of the highest order), and industrial manufacturing (base starches). A sliver also gets used for corn syrup.

The error being made is assuming that corn cultivation being significant to global food supply means that corn is being cultivated primarily for food.