Cereal

Cereal is a type of grain grown from grasses. It is one of the most important foods in the world. It includes crops like rice, wheat, rye, oats, barley, millet, and maize. Some other grains like amaranth, buckwheat, and quinoa are not true cereals but are still used in a similar way.

People have been growing cereals for thousands of years. Wheat and barley were first grown in the Fertile Crescent, while rice was developed in East Asia. Maize was first grown by Indigenous peoples of the Americas in what is now Mexico. These grains are eaten directly, ground into flour for bread, or used to make drinks like beer.

Cereals are a big part of our food supply today, and many countries trade them with each other. Farming cereals can affect the environment, but there are ways to farm more gently on the land.

History

Origins

Further information: Neolithic Revolution and Domestication

Wheat, barley, rye, and oats were eaten in the Fertile Crescent long ago during the early Neolithic. Very old cereal grains were found at the Ohalo II site in Israel.

During this time, farmers in China began to farm rice and millet. They used floods and fires to help their crops grow. They also used things like manure, fish, compost and ashes to improve their soil.

Cereals that became modern barley and wheat were domesticated about 8,000 years ago in the Fertile Crescent. Millets and rice were domesticated in East Asia, while sorghum was domesticated in Sudan. Maize came from a single domestication in Mesoamerica about 9,000 years ago.

In these areas, many gods and goddesses were linked to grain and harvests. In the Mesopotamian creation myth, a goddess named Ashnan brought a time of civilization. The Roman goddess Ceres watched over farming, grain crops, and families; the word cereal comes from her name. Some ancient gods mixed farming with war.

Big civilizations grew where farming cereals created extra food. This allowed some people to live in cities and have more power.

Modern

Further information: Green Revolution

From 1964 to 2023, the amount of cereal we grow went up a lot, mostly because we got more from each plant. The Green Revolution brought new ways to farm, like machines to till the soil, planting just one kind of crop, using special plant food, and creating new seeds. These changes helped stop hunger and gave more food from each plant, but they did not focus much on making the food very healthy. These high-yield crops often have less good protein, and are mostly carbohydrates with missing nutrients like essential amino acids, essential fatty acids, vitamins, and minerals. Older kinds of grains became popular with people who care about organic food in the early 2000s, but they do not give as much food per plant. This can be hard for places with fewer resources when food crops are replaced with cash crops.

Grains are a main part of diets around the world, giving energy and important nutrients. When we grow less of these crops, it can greatly affect how much energy and important nutrients like iron, zinc, magnesium, phosphorus, thiamin and riboflavin people get.

Biology

Cereals are grasses in the Poaceae family that produce edible grains. These grains are special fruits where the seed coat is joined with the outer part of the fruit.

Well-known cereals include rice, wheat, sorghum, millet, maize, barley, oats, rye, and triticale. Some other foods like buckwheat, quinoa, and amaranth are often called cereals even though they are not true grasses.

Cultivation

All cereal crops grow in a similar way. Most grow only once a year, but rice can sometimes grow again after the first harvest. Some cereals, like barley and wheat, grow best in cooler places, while others, like millet and sorghum, need warmer weather.

Cereals are planted in fields where the soil has been prepared. Rice is often grown in water, but other cereals can grow in dry land. In cooler areas, some cereals are planted in the autumn and others in the spring. Harvesting usually happens when the plants and seeds are dry. Modern machines can cut and collect the grain, but in some places, people still harvest by hand. The parts of the plants left behind can be used for animals or other purposes.

After harvesting, cereals may need to be dried before storage to prevent spoilage. They are then processed to make foods like flour or oatmeal, or used to make drinks like beer and whisky.

Effects on the environment

Further information: Environmental impact of agriculture

Growing cereals can change the environment in many ways. Plowing the land can make soil wash away and increase water runoff. Using a lot of water for irrigation can lower water levels in lakes, rivers, and underground water stores. Making fertilizers can warm the planet, and using them can pollute water and harm plants and animals in rivers and lakes. Farming also uses a lot of fuel, which adds to warming the planet. Chemicals used to protect crops can hurt animals, like bees.

Further information: Sustainable agriculture

There are ways to make these effects smaller. Farmers can avoid plowing by planting seeds directly into the soil or by growing plants that stay for many years. Some farmers grow rice in a way that uses less land. Scientists are also creating new types of crops that need less care.

Farmers can use fewer chemicals by growing different crops together in the same field. They can also mix cereal crops with plants that naturally add nutrients to the soil. Better ways to water crops and new plant varieties can help reduce the need for lots of water and cut down on gases that warm the planet.

Uses

Direct consumption

Some cereals like rice need only a little preparation before we can eat them. For example, to make plain cooked rice, raw milled rice is washed and boiled. Foods such as porridge and muesli may be made mostly from whole cereals, especially oats, while commercial breakfast cereals such as granola may be mixed with sugars, oils, and other products.

Flour-based foods

Main article: Flour

Cereals can be ground to make flour. Wheat flour is the main ingredient in bread and pasta. Maize flour has been important in Mesoamerica since ancient times, used to make foods such as Mexican tortillas and tamales. Rye flour is used in bread in central and northern Europe, while rice flour is common in Asia.

A cereal grain has starchy endosperm, germ, and bran. Wholemeal flour contains all of these parts; white flour has some or all of the germ or bran removed.

Alcohol

Further information: Beer and Ethanol fermentation

Because cereals have a lot of starch, they are often used to make industrial alcohol and alcoholic drinks through fermentation. For example, beer is made by brewing and fermenting starch, mostly from malted barley. Rice wines such as Japanese sake are brewed in Asia.

Animal feed

Further information: Animal feed

Cereals and their byproducts such as hay are often fed to farm animals. Common cereals used as animal food include maize, barley, wheat, and oats. Moist grains may be treated with chemicals or made into silage; they can also be stored in airtight containers until used, or kept dry with less than 14% moisture. Commercially, grains are often mixed with other materials and formed into feed pellets.

Nutrition

Cereals, especially whole grains, give us important nutrients like carbohydrates, fats, protein, vitamins, and minerals. When grains are processed, some parts are removed, leaving mostly starch. To help people stay healthy, extra nutrients like iron, calcium, zinc, and folate are often added to cereal products.

Some cereals lack a key amino acid called lysine, so people who eat only plants often mix their grain foods with legumes like beans or lentils to get a full set of nutrients. Legumes may lack another amino acid called methionine, which grains have. By eating both grains and legumes together, people can get a balanced diet. Examples include eating lentils with rice, beans with corn tortillas, or tofu with rice.

Production and trade commodities

Cereals are the biggest crops in the world by weight. Many countries grow them, and many buy them from others. When prices change or supplies run low, it can affect countries that cannot grow enough food themselves. Events like the 2008 financial crisis made grain prices rise quickly. Other problems, like changes in climate or wars, can also make food harder to get. For example, the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 disrupted wheat supplies from Ukraine and Russia, leading to higher prices around the world.

Cereals are the largest crops in the world by how much grain is produced. Three cereals — maize, wheat, and rice — make up most of the world's cereal production. They provided about 43% of the world's food energy in 2009. Oats and rye are grown less today than they were in the 1960s.

Other cereals not always counted in reports include wild rice, grown in small amounts in North America, and teff, an ancient grain important in Ethiopia. Teff is often used to make injera and can also be eaten like farina.

Cereals are the most traded goods by amount in 2021, with wheat, maize, and rice being the main ones. The Americas and Europe export the most, while Asia imports the most. The US is the biggest exporter of maize, and India is the biggest exporter of rice. China imports the most maize and rice. Many countries both buy and sell cereals. Cereals are traded as futures on world commodity markets, which helps manage price risks if crops fail.