Agreed that it's the active land use, not a specific crop, that matters from a food security perspective.

Disagreed otherwise though. Soil degradation is due to people cutting corners to save money. Rice requires significantly more water. Wheat and oats don't have the same shelf life. Legumes are likely comparable but how do they stack up against corn for things like animal feed and chemical feedstock?

The reality is that corn is an extremely practical crop regardless of its lack of political popularity of late.

Well if corn is so productive and efficient then surely it doesn’t need any subsidies. It can stand on its own merits in a real free market.