Of all the plants on which humans have depended for food, those that produce the cereal grains are by far the most important, as they have been since earliest recorded time.
Cereal grains are the seeds of cultivated grasses that include wheat, corn, oats, barley, rye, rice, sorghum, and millet.
There are a number of reasons why cereals have been so important in our diet. They can be grown in a variety of areas, some even in adverse soil and climatic conditions.
They give high yields per acre as compared to most other crops, and once harvested, their excellent stored stability combined with their nutritional value makes them the most desirable of foods for holding in reserve.
They are easy to package and transport and they can be used to produce a large variety of highly desirable foods both for humans and animals, as well as beverages for human consumption.
Cereal grains are the most important source of the world’s total food. Rice alone is reported to supply the major part of the diet for more than one half of the word’s population.
Cereal grains are the staple food of the peoples of developing countries, providing them, with about 75% of their total caloric intake and about 67% of their total protein intake.
The grains are eaten in many ways, sometimes as a paste or other preparation of the seed, more often milled and further processed into flour, starch, oil, bran, syrup, sugar, dried breakfast forms, and so forth. They are also used to feed the animals that provide us with meat, eggs, milk, butter, cheese, and a host of other foods.
The Economy of Cereal Grains
