American “farmers” in the Midwest are concerned with growing tens of thousands of acres of corn for ethanol production. Its a lucrative business with large government subsidies.
While processed foods with all the chemical preservatives is indeed cheaper, it is also a health wrecker when consumed daily, which is what has happened. People, for whatever reason, do not cook from scratch where they can control what goes into the food. They don’t even have to eat organic, although best. Just fresh vegetables and limited amounts of fresh meats and dairy. Cut out the sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, and vegetable oils loaded with omega six fats. People are too lazy to cook from scratch and most no longer even know how to. Its much easier to pop some frozen processed something into the micro-wave or oven.
In my household we eat Keto, which is a high fat/low carb diet. We do buy organic whenever we can, including grass-fed and finished meats and raw milk. Yes, it costs more. But for us the health benefits are worth it even if we have to cut elsewhere.