cereal

{{Further|Neolithic Revolution|Domestication}}

File:Trilla del trigo en el Antiguo Egipto.jpg ]]

Wheat, barley, rye, and oats were gathered and eaten in the Fertile Crescent during the early Neolithic. Cereal grains 19,000 years old have been found at the Ohalo II site in Israel, with charred remnants of wild wheat and barley.{{Cite book |last1=Renfrew |first1=Colin |title=Archaeology: Theories, Methods, and Practice |last2=Bahn |first2=Paul |publisher=Thames & Hudson |year=2012 |isbn=978-0-500-28976-1 |edition=6th |page=277}}

During the same period, farmers in China began to farm rice and millet, using human-made floods and fires as part of their cultivation regimen.{{cite magazine |url=https://genographic.nationalgeographic.com/development-of-agriculture/ |title=The Development of Agriculture |magazine=National Geographic |access-date=22 April 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160414142437/https://genographic.nationalgeographic.com/development-of-agriculture/ |archive-date=14 April 2016 }}{{cite book |title=Plant evolution and the origin of crop species |page=119 |last=Hancock |first=James F. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j_O9ZnFRNngC&pg=PA119 |publisher=CABI |year=2012 |isbn=978-1-84593-801-7 |edition=3rd |access-date=10 February 2021 |archive-date=4 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210504223635/https://books.google.com/books?id=j_O9ZnFRNngC&pg=PA119 |url-status=live}} The use of soil conditioners, including manure, fish, compost and ashes, appears to have begun early, and developed independently in areas of the world including Mesopotamia, the Nile Valley, and Eastern Asia.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qPkoOU4BvEsC&pg=PA44 |page=46 |author=UN Industrial Development Organization, International Fertilizer Development Center |title=The Fertilizer Manual |publisher=Springer Science and Business Media LLC |year=1998 |edition=3rd |isbn=978-0-7923-5032-3 |access-date=10 February 2021 |archive-date=4 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210504221511/https://books.google.com/books?id=qPkoOU4BvEsC&pg=PA44 |url-status=live}}

Cereals that became modern barley and wheat were domesticated some 8,000 years ago in the Fertile Crescent.{{cite journal |last1=Purugganan |first1=Michael D. |last2=Fuller |first2=Dorian Q. |title=The nature of selection during plant domestication |journal=Nature |volume=457 |issue=7231 |date=February 1, 2009 |issn=0028-0836 |doi=10.1038/nature07895 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Dorian-Fuller/publication/24003450_Purugganan_MD_Fuller_DQ_The_nature_of_selection_during_plant_domestication_Nature_457_843-848/links/0912f508156a26ca22000000/Purugganan-MD-Fuller-DQ-The-nature-of-selection-during-plant-domestication-Nature-457-843-848.pdf |pages=843–848 |pmid=19212403 |bibcode=2009Natur.457..843P |s2cid=205216444 }} Millets and rice were domesticated in East Asia, while sorghum and other millets were domesticated in sub-Saharan West Africa, primarily as feed for livestock.{{cite book |last1=Henry |first1=R.J. |last2=Kettlewell |first2=P.S. |title=Cereal Grain Quality |publisher=Chapman & Hall |year=1996 |isbn=978-9-4009-1513-8 |page=155}} Maize arose from a single domestication in Mesoamerica about 9,000 years ago.{{cite journal |last1=Matsuoka |first1=Y. |year=2002 |title=A single domestication for maize shown by multilocus microsatellite genotyping |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |volume=99 |pages=6080–4 |doi=10.1073/pnas.052125199 |pmid=11983901 |last2=Vigouroux |first2=Y. |last3=Goodman |first3=M. M. |last4=Sanchez G. |first4=J. |last5=Buckler |first5=E. |last6=Doebley |first6=J. |issue=9 |pmc=122905 |display-authors=3 |bibcode=2002PNAS...99.6080M |doi-access=free }}

File:Roman harvester, Trier.jpg

In these agricultural regions, religion was often shaped by the divinity associated with the grain and harvests. In the Mesopotamian creation myth, an era of civilization is inaugurated by the grain goddess Ashnan.{{cite book |last=Standage |first=Tom |year=2009 |title=An Edible History of Humanity |location=New York |publisher=Walker & Company |pages=27–28 |isbn=978-1782391654}} [http://mrrangel.weebly.com/uploads/1/4/2/2/14228848/edible_history.pdf (pdf)] The Roman goddess Ceres presided over agriculture, grain crops, fertility, and motherhood;{{cite book |last=Room |first=Adrian |title=Who's Who in Classical Mythology |pages=89–90 |publisher=NTC Publishing |year=1990 |isbn=0-8442-5469-X}} the term cereal is derived from Latin cerealis, "of grain", originally meaning "of [the goddess] Ceres".{{cite web |title=cereal (n.) |url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/cereal |website=Etymonline |access-date=5 February 2024}} Several gods of antiquity combined agriculture and war: the Hittite Sun goddess of Arinna, the Canaanite Lahmu and the Roman Janus.{{cite web |title=JHOM - Bread - Hebrew |url=https://www.jhom.com/topics/bread/hebrew.html |website=www.jhom.com |access-date=27 August 2022 |archive-date=26 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211026063247/https://www.jhom.com/topics/bread/hebrew.html |url-status=live }}

Complex civilizations arose where cereal agriculture created a surplus, allowing for part of the harvest to be appropriated from farmers, allowing power to be concentrated in cities.{{Cite journal |url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/718372#:~:text=The%20conventional%20theory%20about%20the,elites%20and%2C%20eventually%2C%20states.|doi=10.1086/718372 |title=The Origin of the State: Land Productivity or Appropriability? |year=2022 |last1=Mayshar |first1=Joram |last2=Moav |first2=Omer |last3=Pascali |first3=Luigi |journal=Journal of Political Economy |volume=130 |issue=4 |pages=1091–1144 |hdl=10230/57736 |s2cid=244818703 |access-date=17 April 2022 |url-status=live |archive-date=17 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220417220207/https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/718372#:~:text=The%20conventional%20theory%20about%20the,elites%20and%2C%20eventually%2C%20states|hdl-access=free }}

{{further|Green Revolution}}

File:Punjab Monsoon (cropped).jpg in India. India's participation in the Green Revolution helped resolve food shortages in the mid-twentieth century.{{cite news |last1=Kumar |first1=Manoj |last2=Williams |first2=Matthias |title=Punjab, bread basket of India, hungers for change |date=29 January 2009 |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-india-election-punjab-idUSTRE80T00U20120130 |work=Reuters}}{{cite report |url=http://planningcommission.nic.in/plans/stateplan/sdr_pdf/shdr_pun04.pdf |title=Human Development Report 2004, Punjab |author=The Government of Punjab |date=2004 |author-link=Government of Punjab, India |access-date=9 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708073911/http://planningcommission.nic.in/plans/stateplan/sdr_pdf/shdr_pun04.pdf |archive-date=8 July 2011 |url-status=live}} Section: "The Green Revolution", pp. 17–20.]]

During the second half of the 20th century, there was a significant increase in the production of high-yield cereal crops worldwide, especially wheat and rice, due to the Green Revolution, a technological change funded by development organizations.{{cite web |url=http://www.fao.org/docrep/003/w2612e/w2612e06a.htm |title=Lessons from the green revolution: towards a new green revolution |publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization |access-date=5 June 2017 |quote=The green revolution was a technology package comprising material components of improved high-yielding varieties (HYVs) of two staple cereals (rice or "wheat"), irrigation or controlled "water" supply and improved moisture utilization, fertilizers and pesticides and associated management skills. |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170518074944/http://www.fao.org/docrep/003/w2612e/w2612e06a.htm |archive-date=18 May 2017}} The strategies developed by the Green Revolution included mechanized tilling, monoculture, nitrogen fertilizers, and breeding of new strains of seeds. These innovations focused on fending off starvation and increasing yield-per-plant, and were very successful in raising overall yields of cereal grains, but paid less attention to nutritional quality.{{cite journal |last1=Sands |first1=David C. |last2=Morris |first2=Cindy E. |last3=Dratz |first3=Edward A. |last4=Pilgeram |first4=Alice L. |title=Elevating optimal human nutrition to a central goal of plant breeding and production of plant-based foods |journal=Plant Science |volume=177 |issue=5 |date=2009 |pmid=20467463 |pmc=2866137 |doi=10.1016/j.plantsci.2009.07.011 |pages=377–389|bibcode=2009PlnSc.177..377S }} These modern high-yield cereal crops tend to have low-quality proteins, with essential amino acid deficiencies, are high in carbohydrates, and lack balanced essential fatty acids, vitamins, minerals and other quality factors. So-called ancient grains and heirloom varieties have seen an increase in popularity with the "organic" movements of the early 21st century, but there is a tradeoff in yield-per-plant, putting pressure on resource-poor areas as food crops are replaced with cash crops.{{cite web |url=https://recipes.howstuffworks.com/did-quinoa-get-too-popular-for-its-own-good.htm |title=Did Quinoa Get Too Popular for Its Own Good? |date=5 November 2018 |website=HowStuffWorks |access-date=25 August 2019 |archive-date=21 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210421022945/https://recipes.howstuffworks.com/did-quinoa-get-too-popular-for-its-own-good.htm |url-status=live}}

File:Triticum aestivum - Köhler–s Medizinal-Pflanzen-274.jpg. A: Plant; B ripe ear of grains; 1 spikelet before flowering; 2 the same, flowering and spread, enlarged; 3 flowers with glumes; 4 stamens 5 pollen; 6 and 7 ovaries with juice scales; 8 and 9 parts of the scar; 10 fruit husks; 11–14 grains, natural size and enlarged.]]

Cereals are grasses, in the Poaceae family, that produce edible grains. A cereal grain is botanically a caryopsis, a fruit where the seed coat is fused with the pericarp.{{cite book |last1=Juliano |first1=Bienvenido O. |last2=Tuaño |first2=Arvin Paul P. |title=Rice |chapter=Gross structure and composition of the rice grain |publisher=Elsevier |date=2019 |isbn=978-0-12-811508-4 |doi=10.1016/b978-0-12-811508-4.00002-2 |pages=31–53}}{{sfn|Rosentrater|Evers|2018|p=5}} Grasses have stems that are hollow except at the nodes and narrow alternate leaves borne in two ranks.{{cite book |last1=Clayton |first1=W.D. |title=Genera Graminum: Grasses of the world |last2=Renvoise |first2=S.A. |date=1986 |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |isbn=978-1900347754 |location=London}} The lower part of each leaf encloses the stem, forming a leaf-sheath. The leaf grows from the base of the blade, an adaptation that protects the growing meristem from grazing animals.{{cite book |last1=Cope |first1=T. |title=Grasses of the British Isles |last2=Gray |first2=A. |date=2009 |publisher=Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland |isbn=978-0901158420 |location=London}} The flowers are usually hermaphroditic, with the exception of maize, and mainly anemophilous or wind-pollinated, although insects occasionally play a role.{{Cite journal |year=1964 |title=Insect Pollination of Grasses |journal=Australian Journal of Entomology |volume=3 |pages=74 |doi=10.1111/j.1440-6055.1964.tb00625.x |doi-access=}}

Among the best-known cereals are maize, rice, wheat, barley, sorghum, millet, oat, rye and triticale.{{sfn|Rosentrater|Evers|2018|pp=2–3}} Some other grains are colloquially called cereals, even though they are not grasses; these pseudocereals include buckwheat, quinoa, and amaranth.{{sfn|Rosentrater|Evers|2018|pp=68–69}}

All cereal crops are cultivated in a similar way. Most are annual, so after sowing they are harvested just once. An exception is rice, which although usually treated as an annual can survive as a perennial, producing a ratoon crop.{{cite web |url=http://www.knowledgebank.irri.org/riceIPM/IPM_Information/PestEcologyBasics/CropGrowthAndPestDamage/RicePlantHowItGrows/The_Rice_plant_and_How_it_Grows.htm |title=The Rice Plant and How it Grows |website=International Rice Research Institute |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090106224427/http://www.knowledgebank.irri.org/riceIPM/IPM_Information/PestEcologyBasics/CropGrowthAndPestDamage/RicePlantHowItGrows/The_Rice_plant_and_How_it_Grows.htm |archive-date=January 6, 2009}} Cereals adapted to a temperate climate, such as barley, oats, rye, spelt, triticale, and wheat, are called cool-season cereals. Those preferring a tropical climate, such as millet and sorghum, are called warm-season cereals.{{sfn|Rosentrater|Evers|2018|pp=3–4}}{{cite web |date=22 February 2018 |title=Best Crops for Grazing |url=https://www.agriculture.com/livestock/cattle/best-crops-for-grazing |access-date=18 June 2020 |website=Successful Farming |archive-date=26 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201126032757/https://www.agriculture.com/livestock/cattle/best-crops-for-grazing |url-status=live}} Cool-season cereals, especially rye, followed by barley, are hardy; they grow best in fairly cool weather, and stop growing, depending on variety, when the temperature goes above around {{convert|30 |°C|F|round=5|disp=or}}. Warm-season cereals, in contrast, require hot weather and cannot tolerate frost.{{Cite book |last1=Barr |first1=Skylar |last2=Sutton |first2=Mason |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IePEDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA54 |title=Technology of Cereals, Pulses and Oilseeds |publisher=Edtech |year=2019 |isbn=9781839472619 |pages=54 |access-date=30 August 2022 |archive-date=30 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220830133456/https://books.google.com/books?id=IePEDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA54 |url-status=live }} Cool-season cereals can be grown in highlands in the tropics, where they sometimes deliver several crops in a single year.

File:Green rice sheaves planted in a paddy field with long shadows at golden hour in Don Det Laos.jpg in a paddy field ]]

In the tropics, warm-season cereals can be grown at any time of the year. In temperate zones, these cereals can only be grown when there is no frost. Most cereals are planted in tilled soils, which reduces weeds and breaks up the surface of a field. Most cereals need regular water in the early part of their life cycle. Rice is commonly grown in flooded fields,{{cite web |url=http://www.knowledgebank.irri.org/step-by-step-production/growth/water-management |title=Water Management |publisher=International Rice Research Institute |access-date=November 4, 2023 }} though some strains are grown on dry land.{{cite book |last1=Gupta |first1=Phool Chand |last2=O'Toole |first2=J. C. O'Toole |year=1986 |title=Upland Rice: A Global Perspective |publisher=International Rice Research Institute |isbn=978-971-10-4172-4}} Other warm climate cereals, such as sorghum, are adapted to arid conditions.{{cite news |last=Danovich |first=Tove |url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/dec/15/sorghum-wonder-grain-american-food-quinoa |title=Move over, quinoa: sorghum is the new 'wonder grain' |newspaper=The Guardian |date=15 December 2015 |access-date=31 July 2018}}

Cool-season cereals are grown mainly in temperate zones. These cereals often have both winter varieties for autumn sowing, winter dormancy, and early summer harvesting, and spring varieties planted in spring and harvested in late summer. Winter varieties have the advantage of using water when it is plentiful, and permitting a second crop after the early harvest. They flower only in spring as they require vernalization, exposure to cold for a specific period, fixed genetically. Spring crops grow when it is warmer but less rainy, so they may need irrigation.{{Clear}}

File:Wheat scab.jpg damages many cereals, here wheat, where it causes wheat scab (right).]]

Cereal strains are bred for consistency and resilience to the local environmental conditions. The greatest constraints on yield are plant diseases, especially rusts (mostly the Puccinia spp.) and powdery mildews.{{Cite web |year=2015 |pages=1–163 |publisher=Aarhus University |title=14th International Cereal Rusts and Powdery Mildews Conference |url=https://wheat.pw.usda.gov/GG3/node/176}} Fusarium head blight, caused by Fusarium graminearum, is a significant limitation on a wide variety of cereals.{{cite journal |year=2004 |issue=6 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons, Inc. |volume=5 |last1=Goswami |first1=R. |last2=Kistler |first2=H. |pages=515–525 |journal=Molecular Plant Pathology |issn=1464-6722 |s2cid=11548015 |pmid=20565626 |title=Heading for disaster: Fusarium graminearum on cereal crops |doi=10.1111/j.1364-3703.2004.00252.x |doi-access=free}} Other pressures include pest insects and wildlife like rodents and deer.{{Cite journal |last1=Singleton |first1=Grant R |last2=Lorica |first2=Renee P |last3=Htwe |first3=Nyo Me |last4=Stuart |first4=Alexander M |date=2021-10-01 |title=Rodent management and cereal production in Asia: Balancing food security and conservation |journal=Pest Management Science |volume=77 |issue=10 |pages=4249–4261 |doi=10.1002/ps.6462 |pmid=33949075 |language=en|doi-access=free }}{{Cite web |title=Deer (Overview) Interaction with Humans - Damage to Agriculture {{!}} Wildlife Online |url=https://www.wildlifeonline.me.uk/animals/article/deer-overview-interaction-with-humans-damage-to-agriculture |access-date=2024-02-08 |website=www.wildlifeonline.me.uk |language=en}} In conventional agriculture, some farmers will apply fungicides or pesticides

Annual cereals die when they have come to seed, and dry up. Harvesting begins once the plants and seeds are dry enough. Harvesting in mechanized agricultural systems is by combine harvester, a machine which drives across the field in a single pass in which it cuts the stalks and then threshes and winnows the grain.{{cite book |title=A Century of Innovation: Twenty Engineering Achievements That Transformed Our Lives, Chapter 7, Agricultural Mechanization |last1=Constable |first1=George |last2=Somerville |first2=Bob |year=2003 |publisher=Joseph Henry Press |location=Washington, DC |isbn=0-309-08908-5 |url=http://www.greatachievements.org/?id=2955 |access-date=30 August 2022 |archive-date=21 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190521092207/http://www.greatachievements.org/?id=2955 |url-status=live }} In traditional agricultural systems, mostly in the Global South, harvesting may be by hand, using tools such as scythes and grain cradles. Leftover parts of the plant can be allowed to decompose, or collected as straw; this can be used for animal bedding, mulch, and a growing medium for mushrooms.{{cite web |title=Cereal Straw |url=https://www.uky.edu/ccd/production/crop-resources/gffof/cereal-straw |publisher=University of Kentucky |access-date=9 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190329052608/https://www.uky.edu/ccd/production/crop-resources/gffof/cereal-straw |archive-date=29 March 2019 |url-status=live}} It is used in crafts such as building with cob or straw-bale construction.{{cite book |last1=Walker |first1=Pete |last2=Thomson |first2=A. |last3=Maskell |first3=D. |title=Nonconventional and Vernacular Construction Materials |chapter=Straw bale construction |publisher=Elsevier |year=2020 |doi=10.1016/b978-0-08-102704-2.00009-3 |pages=189–216|isbn=978-0-08-102704-2 }}

File:Rice-combine-harvester, Katori-city, Japan.jpg|A small-scale rice combine harvester in Japan

If cereals are not completely dry when harvested, such as when the weather is rainy, the stored grain will be spoilt by mould fungi such as Aspergillus and Penicillium.{{cite book |chapter=Spoilage of Cereals and Cereal Products |editor1=Erkmen, Osman |editor2=Bozoglu, T. Faruk |title=Food Microbiology: Principles into Practice |publisher=Wiley |year=2016 |isbn=978-1-119-23776-1 |doi=10.1002/9781119237860.ch21 |pages=364–375}} This can be prevented by drying it artificially. It may then be stored in a grain elevator or silo, to be sold later. Grain stores need to be constructed to protect the grain from damage by pests such as seed-eating birds and rodents.

File:Woman from small village peeling corn - Zambia.jpg|Peeling maize in Zambia

File:Grain elevators on a farm in Israel (cropped).jpg|Grain elevators on a farm in Israel

File:Mexican woman maize tortillas.jpgs, 2013]]

When the cereal is ready to be distributed, it is sold to a manufacturing facility that first removes the outer layers of the grain for subsequent milling for flour or other processing steps, to produce foods such as flour, oatmeal, or pearl barley.{{cite book |last1=Papageorgiou |first1=Maria |last2=Skendi |first2=Adriana |chapter=1 Introduction to cereal processing and by-products |year=2018 |title=Sustainable Recovery and Reutilization of Cereal Processing By-Products |pages=1–25 |editor-last=Galanakis |editor-first=Charis M. |chapter-url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780081021620000010 |access-date=9 February 2024 |series=Woodhead Publishing Series in Food Science, Technology and Nutrition |publisher=Woodhead Publishing |isbn=978-0-08-102162-0}} In developing countries, processing may be traditional, in artisanal workshops, as with tortilla production in Central America.{{cite journal |last1=Astier |first1=Marta |last2=Odenthal |first2=Georg |last3=Patricio |first3=Carmen |last4=Orozco-Ramírez |first4=Quetzalcoatl |title=Handmade tortilla production in the basins of lakes Pátzcuaro and Zirahuén, Mexico |journal=Journal of Maps |publisher=Informa UK |volume=15 |issue=1 |date=2019-01-02 |issn=1744-5647 |doi=10.1080/17445647.2019.1576553 |pages=52–57|bibcode=2019JMaps..15...52A |doi-access=free }}

Most cereals can be processed in a variety of ways. Rice processing, for instance, can create whole-grain or polished rice, or rice flour. Removal of the germ increases the longevity of grain in storage.{{Cite web |date=2 August 2018 |title=Varieties |url=http://www.riceassociation.org.uk/content/1/10/varieties.html |access-date=9 February 2024 |website=Rice Association|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180802162740/http://www.riceassociation.org.uk/content/1/10/varieties.html |archive-date=2 August 2018 }} Some grains can be malted, a process of activating enzymes in the seed to cause sprouting that turns the complex starches into sugars before drying.{{Cite web |title=The Malting Process |url=https://www.brewingwithbriess.com/malting-101/malting-process/ |access-date=9 February 2024 |website=Brewing With Briess}}{{Cite web |title=Malting - an overview |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/food-science/malting |access-date=2024-02-09 |website=Science Direct}} These sugars can be extracted for industrial uses and further processing, such as for making industrial alcohol, beer, whisky,{{Cite web |title=Standards of Identity for Distilled Spirits, Title 27 Code of Federal Regulations, Pt. 5.22 |url=http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/cfr_2008/aprqtr/pdf/27cfr5.22.pdf |access-date=17 October 2008 |quote=Bourbon whiskey ... Corn whiskey ... Malt whiskey ... Rye whiskey ... Wheat whiskey}} or rice wine, or sold directly as a sugar.{{cite book |last=Briggs |first=D. E. |title=Barley |chapter=Some uses of barley malt |publisher=Springer Netherlands |publication-place=Dordrecht |year=1978 |isbn=978-94-009-5717-6 |doi=10.1007/978-94-009-5715-2_16 |pages=560–586 |quote=products include malt extracts (powders and syrups), diastase, beer, whisky, ... and malt vinegar.}} In the 20th century, industrial processes developed around chemically altering the grain, to be used for other processes. In particular, maize can be altered to produce food additives, such as corn starch{{cite web |url=http://www.starch.dk/isi/starch/tm18www-corn.htm |title=International Starch: Production of corn starch |publisher=Starch.dk |access-date=2011-06-12 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110515104234/http://www.starch.dk/isi/starch/tm18www-corn.htm |archive-date=2011-05-15 }} and high-fructose corn syrup.{{cite web | title=Glucose-fructose syrup: How is it produced? |url=http://www.eufic.org/en/food-production/article/glucose-fructose-how-is-it-produced-infographic | publisher=European Food Information Council (EUFIC) |access-date=9 February 2024 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170517230154/http://www.eufic.org/en/food-production/article/glucose-fructose-how-is-it-produced-infographic |archive-date=17 May 2017}}

{{further|Environmental impact of agriculture}}

File:Harvesting Cycle 2 Thinopyrum intermedium.jpg, a perennial cereal developed in the 21st century. Because it grows back every year, farmers no longer have to till the soil.]]

Cereal production has a substantial impact on the environment. Tillage can lead to soil erosion and increased runoff.{{cite journal |last1=Takken |first1=Ingrid |last2=Govers |first2=Gerard |last3=Jetten |first3=Victor |last4=Nachtergaele |first4=Jeroen |last5=Steegen |first5=An |last6=Poesen |first6=Jean |title=Effects of tillage on runoff and erosion patterns |journal=Soil and Tillage Research |publisher=Elsevier |volume=61 |issue=1–2 |year=2001 |issn=0167-1987 |doi=10.1016/s0167-1987(01)00178-7 |pages=55–60|bibcode=2001STilR..61...55T |url=https://research.utwente.nl/en/publications/e336843d-68b1-461a-a8de-613b9b79321e }} Irrigation consumes large quantities of water; its extraction from lakes, rivers, or aquifers may have multiple environmental effects, such as lowering the water table and cause salination of aquifers.{{cite book |last=Sundquist |first=Bruce |year=2007 |chapter=1 Irrigation overview |title=The Earth's Carrying Capacity: some literature reviews |chapter-url=http://home.windstream.net/bsundquist1/ir1.html |access-date=8 February 2024 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120217192619/http://home.windstream.net/bsundquist1/ir1.html |archive-date=17 February 2012}} Fertilizer production contributes to global warming,{{cite book |title=Climate Change and Land: an IPCC special report on climate change, desertification, land degradation, sustainable land management, food security, and greenhouse gas fluxes in terrestrial ecosystems |last1=Mbow |first1=C. |last2=Rosenzweig |first2=C. |last3=Barioni |first3=L. G. |last4=Benton |first4=T. |last5=Herrero |first5=M. |last6=Krishnapillai |first6=M. V. |year=2019 |page=454 |chapter=Chapter 5: Food Security |display-authors=4 |chapter-url=https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/sites/4/2019/11/08_Chapter-5.pdf}} and its use can lead to pollution and eutrophication of waterways.{{cite book |last=Werner |first=Wilfried |title=Fertilizers |chapter=6. Environmental Aspects |publisher=Wiley |year=2009 |isbn=978-3-527-30385-4 |doi=10.1002/14356007.n10_n05}} Arable farming uses large amounts of fossil fuel, releasing greenhouse gases which contribute to global warming.{{cite book |last1=Nabuurs |first1=G-J. |last2=Mrabet |first2=R. |last3=Abu Hatab |first3=A. |last4=Bustamante |first4=M. |display-authors=etal |chapter-url=https://ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg3/downloads/report/IPCC_AR6_WGIII_Chapter07.pdf |chapter=7: Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Uses |title=Climate Change 2022: Mitigation of Climate Change |doi=10.1017/9781009157926.009 |page=750}} Pesticide usage can cause harm to wildlife, such as to bees.{{Cite web |date=28 February 2018 |title=Neonicotinoids: risks to bees confirmed |url=https://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/press/news/180228 |access-date=23 June 2023 |publisher=European Food Safety Authority}}

{{further|Sustainable agriculture}}

File:Great Soil Structure in Stehly Crop Field in Eastern, SD (21480483232).jpg with no-till farming using a crop rotation of maize, soybeans, and wheat accompanied by cover crops. The main crop has been harvested but the roots of the cover crop are still visible in autumn.]]

Some of the impacts of growing cereals can be mitigated by changing production practices. Tillage can be reduced by no-till farming, such as by direct drilling of cereal seeds, or by developing and planting perennial crop varieties so that annual tilling is not required. Rice can be grown as a ratoon crop; and other researchers are exploring perennial cool-season cereals, such as kernza, being developed in the US.{{cite news |last=Kaplan |first=Sarah |title=A recipe for fighting climate change and feeding the world |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-solutions/interactive/2021/bread-baking-sustainable-grain-kernza/ |access-date=19 November 2021 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}

Fertilizer and pesticide usage may be reduced in some polycultures, growing several crops in a single field at the same time.{{cite journal |last1=Glover |first1=Jerry D. |last2=Cox |first2=Cindy M. |last3=Reganold |first3=John P. |year=2007 |title=Future Farming: A Return to Roots? |url=http://www.landinstitute.org/pages/Glover-et-al-2007-Sci-Am.pdf |journal=Scientific American |volume=297 |issue=2 |pages=82–89 |doi=10.1038/scientificamerican0807-82 |pmid=17894176 |bibcode=2007SciAm.297b..82G }} Fossil fuel-based nitrogen fertilizer usage can be reduced by intercropping cereals with legumes which fix nitrogen.{{cite journal |last1=Jensen |first1=Erik Steen |last2=Carlsson |first2=Georg |last3=Hauggaard-Nielsen |first3=Henrik |title=Intercropping of grain legumes and cereals improves the use of soil N resources and reduces the requirement for synthetic fertilizer N: A global-scale analysis |journal=Agronomy for Sustainable Development |publisher=Springer Science and Business Media |volume=40 |issue=1 |year=2020 |page=5 |issn=1774-0746 |doi=10.1007/s13593-020-0607-x|doi-access=free |bibcode=2020AgSD...40....5J }} Greenhouse gas emissions may be cut further by more efficient irrigation or by water harvesting methods like contour trenching that reduce the need for irrigation, and by breeding new crop varieties.{{cite web |last1=Vermeulen |first1=S.J. |last2=Dinesh |first2=D. |year=2016 |url=https://cgspace.cgiar.org/handle/10568/71052 |title=Measures for climate change adaptation in agriculture. Opportunities for climate action in agricultural systems. CCAFS Info Note |location=Copenhagen, Denmark |publisher=CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security}}

Some cereals such as rice require little preparation before human consumption. For example, to make plain cooked rice, raw milled rice is washed and boiled.{{Cite web |title=How to cook perfect rice |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/techniques/how_to_cook_perfect_rice |access-date=27 August 2022 |website=BBC Food |archive-date=27 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220827052428/https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/techniques/how_to_cook_perfect_rice |url-status=live }} Foods such as porridge{{sfn|Davidson|2014|pp=642–643 Porridge}} and muesli may be made largely of whole cereals, especially oats, whereas commercial breakfast cereals such as granola may be highly processed and combined with sugars, oils, and other products.{{cite news |url= https://www.bonappetit.com/test-kitchen/cooking-tips/article/muesli-vs-granola |title=What's the difference between muesli and granola? A very important primer |first=Rochelle |last=Bilow |date=17 September 2015 |work=Bon Appétit |publisher=Condé Nast |access-date=6 June 2022}}

{{main|Flour}}

File:Various grains.jpg

Cereals can be ground to make flour. Wheat flour is the main ingredient of bread and pasta.{{cite book |last1=Vaclavik |first1=Vickie A. |last2=Christian |first2=Elizabeth W. |title=Essentials of Food Science |chapter=Grains: Cereal, Flour, Rice, and Pasta |publisher=Springer New York |publication-place=New York |date=2008 |isbn=978-0-387-69939-4 |doi=10.1007/978-0-387-69940-0_6 |pages=81–105}}{{Cite web |title=The history of flour - The FlourWorld Museum Wittenburg – Flour Sacks of the World |url=https://flour-art-museum.de/english/background-and-culture/history-of-flour.php |access-date=30 August 2022 |website=flour-art-museum.de |archive-date=27 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210227214328/https://flour-art-museum.de/english/background-and-culture/history-of-flour.php |url-status=live }}{{cite web |last1=Peña |first1=R. J. |title=Wheat for bread and other foods |url=http://www.fao.org/docrep/006/y4011e/y4011e0w.htm |publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization |access-date=30 August 2022 |quote=Wheat, in the form of bread, provides more nutrients to the world population than any other single food source. |archive-date=27 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190127205040/http://www.fao.org/docrep/006/y4011e/y4011e0w.htm |url-status=live }} Maize flour has been important in Mesoamerica since ancient times, with foods such as Mexican tortillas and tamales.{{sfn|Davidson|2014|pp=516–517 Mexico}} Rye flour is a constituent of bread in central and northern Europe,{{cite web |title=Medieval Daily Bread Made of Rye |url=https://www.medieval.eu/medieval-daily-bread-made-rye/ |website=Medieval Histories |access-date=8 February 2024 |date=15 January 2017 |quote=Sources: Råg. Article in Kulturhistorisk leksikon for Nordisk Middelalder. Rosenkilde and Bagger 1982.}} while rice flour is common in Asia.{{sfn|Davidson|2014|p=682 Rice}}

A cereal grain consists of starchy endosperm, germ, and bran. Wholemeal flour contains all of these; white flour is without some or all of the germ or bran.{{sfn|Davidson|2014|pp=315–316 Flour}}

{{further|Beer|Ethanol fermentation}}

Because cereals have a high starch content, they are often used to make industrial alcohol{{cite book |last=Jacobs |first=Paul Burke |title=Information on Industrial Alcohol |date=1938 |publisher=U.S. Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Chemistry and Soils |pages=3–4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I9xGAQAAIAAJ |access-date=29 August 2022 |language=en |archive-date=30 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220830133456/https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Information_on_Industrial_Alcohol/I9xGAQAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0 |url-status=live }} and alcoholic drinks by fermentation. For instance, beer is produced by brewing and fermenting starch, mainly from cereal grains—most commonly malted barley.{{cite book |last=Barth |first=Roger |chapter=1. Overview |title=The Chemistry of Beer: The Science in the Suds |publisher=Wiley |year=2013 |isbn=978-1-118-67497-0}} Rice wines such as Japanese sake are brewed in Asia;{{sfn|Davidson|2014|p=701}} a fermented rice and honey wine was made in China some 9,000 years ago.{{cite web |last1=Borrell |first1=Brendan |title=The Origin of Wine |url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-origin-of-wine/ |publisher=Scientific American |date=20 August 2009}}

{{further|Animal feed}}

File:Chickens feeding.jpg{{cite web |title=Cereals in poultry diets – Small and backyard poultry |url=https://poultry.extension.org/articles/feeds-and-feeding-of-poultry/feed-ingredients-for-poultry/cereals-in-poultry-diets/ |access-date=2024-02-10 |website=poultry.extension.org}}]]

Cereals and their related byproducts such as hay are routinely fed to farm animals. Common cereals as animal food include maize, barley, wheat, and oats. Moist grains may be treated chemically or made into silage; mechanically flattened or crimped, and kept in airtight storage until used; or stored dry with a moisture content of less than 14%.{{cite web |title=Feeding cereal grains to livestock: moist vs dry grain |url=https://ahdb.org.uk/knowledge-library/feeding-cereal-grains-to-livestock-moist-vs-dry-grain |publisher=Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board |access-date=5 February 2024}} Commercially, grains are often combined with other materials and formed into feed pellets.{{cite journal |last1=Thomas |first1=M. |last2=van Vliet |first2=T. |last3=van der Poel |first3=A.F.B. |title=Physical quality of pelleted animal feed 3. Contribution of feedstuff components |journal=Animal Feed Science and Technology |volume=70 |issue=1–2 |date=1998 |doi=10.1016/S0377-8401(97)00072-2 |pages=59–78}}

File:Home made whole grain bread.jpg

As whole grains, cereals provide carbohydrates, polyunsaturated fats, protein, vitamins, and minerals. When processed by the removal of the bran and germ, all that remains is the starchy endosperm.{{cite web |date=6 December 2023 |title=Cereals and wholegrain foods |url=https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/cereals-and-wholegrain-foods |access-date=8 February 2024 |website=Better Health Channel |quote=in consultation with and approved by Victoria State Government Department of Health; Deakin University}} In some developing countries, cereals constitute a majority of daily sustenance. In developed countries, cereal consumption is moderate and varied but still substantial, primarily in the form of refined and processed grains.{{cite news |last=Mundell |first=E.J. |date=9 July 2019 |title=More Americans Are Eating Whole Grains, But Intake Still Too Low |url=https://consumer.healthday.com/vitamins-and-nutrition-information-27/food-and-nutrition-news-316/more-americans-are-eating-whole-grains-but-intake-still-too-low-748156.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211102033043/https://consumer.healthday.com/vitamins-and-nutrition-information-27/food-and-nutrition-news-316/more-americans-are-eating-whole-grains-but-intake-still-too-low-748156.html |archive-date=2 November 2021 |access-date=31 May 2021 |work=HealthDay}}

{{further|Complete protein|Protein combining}}

Some cereals are deficient in the essential amino acid lysine, obliging vegetarian cultures to combine their diet of cereal grains with legumes to obtain a balanced diet. Many legumes, however, are deficient in the essential amino acid methionine, which grains contain. Thus, a combination of legumes with grains forms a well-balanced diet for vegetarians. Such combinations include dal (lentils) with rice by South Indians and Bengalis, beans with maize tortillas, tofu with rice, and peanut butter with wholegrain wheat bread (as sandwiches) in several other cultures, including the Americas.{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/primemovernatura0000voge |title=Prime Mover: A Natural History of Muscle |date=17 August 2003 |publisher=W.W. Norton & Company |isbn=9780393247312 |page=[https://archive.org/details/primemovernatura0000voge/page/301 301] |url-access=registration}}. For feeding animals, the amount of crude protein measured in grains is expressed as grain crude protein concentration.{{cite journal |last1=Edwards |first1=J.S. |last2=Bartley |first2=E.E. |last3=Dayton |first3=A.D. |year=1980 |title=Effects of Dietary Protein Concentration on Lactating Cows |journal=Journal of Dairy Science |volume=63 |issue=2 |page=243 |doi=10.3168/jds.S0022-0302(80)82920-1 |doi-access=free}}

File:Starokostiantyniv Grain Elevator after Russian missile attack, 2023-08-06 (01).jpg.]]

Cereals constitute the world's largest commodities by tonnage, whether measured by production or by international trade. Several major producers of cereals dominate the market. Because of the scale of the trade, some countries have become reliant on imports, thus cereals pricing or availability can have outsized impacts on countries with a food trade imbalance and thus food security.{{Cite book |last1=OECD |url=https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/agriculture-and-food/oecd-fao-agricultural-outlook-2023-2032_08801ab7-en |title=OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook 2023-2032 |last2=Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations |date=2023-07-06 |publisher=OECD |isbn=978-92-64-61933-3 |language=en |chapter=3. Cereals |doi=10.1787/19991142 |chapter-url=https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/sites/0f858aab-en/index.html?itemId=/content/component/0f858aab-en}} Speculation, as well as other compounding production and supply factors leading up to the 2008 financial crisis, created rapid inflation of grain prices during the 2007–2008 world food price crisis.{{cite web |title=World Food Situation |url=http://www.fao.org/worldfoodsituation/en/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110429085859/http://www.fao.org/worldfoodsituation/en/ |archive-date=29 April 2011 |access-date=24 April 2011 |publisher=FAO}} Other disruptions, such as climate change or war related changes to supply or transportation can create further food insecurity; for example the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 disrupted Ukrainian and Russian wheat supplies causing a global food price crisis in 2022 that affected countries heavily dependent on wheat flour.{{Cite conference |last1=Pei |first1=Qing |last2=Zhang |first2=David Dian |last3=Xu |first3=Jingjing |chapter=Price Responses of Grain Market under Climate Change in Pre-industrial Western Europe by ARX Modelling |date=August 2014 |title=Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Simulation and Modeling Methodologies, Technologies and Applications |conference=2014 4th International Conference on Simulation and Modeling Methodologies, Technologies and Applications (SIMULTECH) |pages=811–817 |doi=10.5220/0005025208110817 |isbn=978-989-758-038-3 |s2cid=8045747 |doi-access=free }}{{Cite magazine |title=Climate Change is Likely to Devastate the Global Food Supply |url=https://time.com/5663621/climate-change-food-supply/ |access-date=2022-04-02 |magazine=Time}}{{Cite web |title=CLIMATE CHANGE LINKED TO GLOBAL RISE IN FOOD PRICES – Climate Change |url=https://climatechange.medill.northwestern.edu/2015/02/10/climate-change-linked-to-global-rise-in-food-prices/ |access-date=2022-04-02 |archive-date=18 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221018125750/https://climatechange.medill.northwestern.edu/2015/02/10/climate-change-linked-to-global-rise-in-food-prices/ |url-status=dead }}{{Cite news |last=Lustgarten |first=Abrahm |date=2020-12-16 |title=How Russia Wins the Climate Crisis |url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/12/16/magazine/russia-climate-migration-crisis.html |access-date=2022-04-02 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331}}

{{See also|List of countries by cereal production}}

File:Ethiopie-Battage du teff (4).jpg, Ethiopia, 2007]]

Cereals are the world's largest crops by tonnage of grain produced.{{cite web |url=https://www.idrc.ca/en |title=IDRC - International Development Research Centre |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160609075145/https://www.idrc.ca/en |archive-date=9 June 2016 |website=International Development Research Centre}} Three cereals, maize, wheat, and rice, together accounted for 89% of all cereal production worldwide in 2012, and 43% of the global supply of food energy in 2009,{{cite web |title=ProdSTAT |url=http://faostat.fao.org/site/567/DesktopDefault.aspx |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120210214103/http://faostat.fao.org/site/567/DesktopDefault.aspx |archive-date=10 February 2012 |access-date=9 July 2020 |work=FAOSTAT}} while the production of oats and rye has drastically fallen from their 1960s levels.

Other cereals not included in the U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization statistics include wild rice, which is grown in small amounts in North America, and teff, an ancient grain that is a staple in Ethiopia. Teff is grown in sub-Saharan Africa as a grass primarily for feeding horses. It is high in fiber and protein. Its flour is often used to make injera. It can be eaten as a warm breakfast cereal like farina with a chocolate or nutty flavor.

File:Production Of Cereals (2021).svg|Production of cereals worldwide, by country in 2021

The table shows the annual production of cereals in 1961, 1980, 2000, 2010, and 2019/2020.{{efn |1961 is the earliest year for which FAO statistics are available.}}{{Cite web |last=Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations |title=FAOSTAT |url=https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/QCL |access-date=30 August 2022 |website=FAOSTAT (Food and Agriculture Organization Statistics Division) |archive-date=6 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220106022112/https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/QCL |url-status=live }}{{Cite journal |last1=Ritchie |first1=Hannah |author1-link=Hannah Ritchie |last2=Roser |first2=Max |author2-link=Max Roser |date=17 October 2013 |title=Crop Yields |url=https://ourworldindata.org/crop-yields |journal=Our World in Data |access-date=30 August 2022 |archive-date=27 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170727075346/https://ourworldindata.org/land-use-in-agriculture/ |url-status=live }}

{{further|Grain trade}}

File:Bulk carrier arriving in port (cropped).jpg ship, 2006]]

Cereals are the most traded commodities by quantity in 2021, with wheat, maize, and rice the main cereals involved. The Americas and Europe are the largest exporters, and Asia is the largest importer. The largest exporter of maize is the US, while India is the largest exporter of rice. China is the largest importer of maize and of rice. Many other countries trade cereals, both as exporters and as importers.{{cite book |title=World Food and Agriculture – Statistical Yearbook 2023 |publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization |url=https://www.fao.org/documents/card/en?details=cc8166en |access-date=2023-12-13 |date=2023 |doi=10.4060/cc8166en |isbn=978-92-5-138262-2 }} Cereals are traded as futures on world commodity markets, helping to mitigate the risks of changes in price for example, if harvests fail.{{cite book |last1=Atkin |first1=Michael |title=Agricultural Commodity Markets: A Guide to Futures Trading |date=2024 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=9781003845379 |chapter=6. Grains}}

File:Main Traded Cereals, Top Importers And Exporters (Quantities, 2021).svg|Main traded cereals, top import, export in 2021

{{Div col |colwidth=22em}}

• Food price crisis
• Food quality
• Food safety
• Lists of foods
• Post-harvest losses
• Pulse

{{div col end}}

{{notelist}}

{{reflist}}

• {{Free-content attribution |title = World Food and Agriculture – Statistical Yearbook 2023 |author = FAO |publisher = FAO |documentURL = https://www.fao.org/documents/card/en?details=cc8166en |license statement URL = https://commons.wikimedia.org/whttps://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:World_Food_and_Agriculture_-_Statistical_Yearbook_2023.pdf |license = CC BY-SA IGO 3.0}}
• {{cite book |last=Davidson |first=Alan |author-link=Alan Davidson (food writer) |chapter=Mexico |title=The Oxford Companion to Food |publisher=Oxford University Press |date=2014 |edition=3rd |isbn=978-0-19-967733-7}}
• {{cite book |last1=Rosentrater |first1=Kurt August |title=Kent's Technology of Cereals: An Introduction for Students of Food Science and Agriculture |last2=Evers |first2=Anthony D. |date=2018 |isbn=978-0-08-100532-3 |edition=5th |location=Duxford, England |oclc=1004672994}}

{{Cereals}}

{{Vegetarianism}}

{{Authority control}}

Cereals

Category:Crops