Sweet corn is the kind of corn you would buy at the grocery store for human consumption. But only 1% of corn grown in the US is sweet corn. The rest is field corn. Sweet corn is picked while the stalks are green and the corn kernels are juicy. Field corn is harvested when the corn and stalks are dry. Field corn has a high starch and low sugar content, so it does not taste good. Rather it is used for animal feed, fuel, and other things like household products.