Corn has had a long history in the United States. The Illinois Museum described corn as one of the greatest feats of genetic engineering in human history. The cultivation of corn marked a turning point in the development of agriculture and human society in the early Americas. Here was a crop that could now be stored and used during the lean winter months.
Laughnan, a professor of plant biology and head of the Botany Department at University of Illinois, was a corn geneticist. In the early 1950s, he and discovered the shrunken-2 (sh2) gene led to corn that produced kernels with less starch and four times more sugar than other sweet corn at the time. When Laughnan started marketing his varieties of sweet corn with the sh2 gene, he developed the “Illini Supersweet” hybrid. Today “supersweet” is often used synonymously with sh2.
Whether you like it sweet or supersweet, sweet corn is a staple on the tables of Illinois families and is deserving of a its own special day of recognition.
In 2022, House Republican Leader Tony McCombie, a passionate connoisseur of sweet corn, passed legislation recognizing August 1 as Sweet Corn Appreciation Day in Illinois, a day to commemorate all sweet corn growers and farmers across the state
“Sweet corn was always a favorite of mine. Like millions of others in Illinois, sweet corn reminds us of summer and fun family memories," said McCombie. "Whether you purchase it from your grocer or a local farmers market, it would not be possible for us to enjoy it without those who grow it."