Cereal

A cereal is a <a href="/facts/Poaceae/q2CRK8q0">grass</a> cultivated for its edible <a href="/facts/Grain/C00uWDPs">grain</a>. Cereals are the world's largest crops, and are therefore <a href="/facts/Staple_food/GNo3putV">staple foods</a>. They include <a href="/facts/Rice/wvL1hBCz">rice</a>, <a href="/facts/Wheat/lrk6HdV3">wheat</a>, <a href="/facts/Rye/LwdwSNcp">rye</a>, <a href="/facts/Oat/wn3vnCnT">oats</a>, <a href="/facts/Barley/GH7X2qtG">barley</a>, <a href="/facts/Millet/y0DDfYPm">millet</a>, and <a href="/facts/Maize/lJ6c5xMH">maize</a> (<a href="/facts/Corn/lJ6c5xMH">Corn</a>). Edible grains from other plant families, such as <a href="/facts/Amaranth/DbgL7rTz">amaranth</a>, <a href="/facts/Buckwheat/vhNC6Ddr">buckwheat</a> and <a href="/facts/Quinoa/aQ0gvDWp">quinoa</a>, are <a href="/facts/Pseudocereal/gH8KWep5">pseudocereals</a>. Most cereals are <a href="/facts/Annual_plant/SkPv72DA">annuals</a>, producing one crop from each planting, though rice is sometimes grown as a <a href="/facts/Perennial/MQ3NvAUW">perennial</a>. Winter varieties are hardy enough to be planted in the autumn, becoming dormant in the winter, and harvested in spring or early summer; spring varieties are planted in spring and harvested in late summer. The term cereal is derived from the name of the Roman goddess of grain crops and fertility, <a href="/facts/Ceres_(mythology)/z8aja7rQ">Ceres</a>.
Cereals were <a href="/facts/Domesticated/tWB5s52s">domesticated</a> in the <a href="/facts/Neolithic/wRS0Bnh4">Neolithic</a> around 8,000 years ago. Wheat and barley were domesticated in the <a href="/facts/Fertile_Crescent/KLHIjwQe">Fertile Crescent</a>; rice and some millets were domesticated in East Asia, while <a href="/facts/Sorghum/D1KNhtdT">sorghum</a> and other millets were domesticated in West Africa. Maize was domesticated by <a href="/facts/Indigenous_peoples_of_the_Americas/LG2r6wXm">Indigenous peoples of the Americas</a> in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago. In the 20th century, cereal productivity was greatly increased by the <a href="/facts/Green_Revolution/sB1gbDxN">Green Revolution</a>. This increase in production has accompanied a <a href="/facts/Grain_trade/ICzwqp6R">growing international trade</a>, with some countries producing large portions of the cereal supply for other countries.
Cereals provide food eaten directly as <a href="/facts/Whole_grain/arLz8FWD">whole grains</a>, usually cooked, or they are ground to <a href="/facts/Flour/dY1Lx5RQ">flour</a> and made into <a href="/facts/Bread/Sr4Ucgfq">bread</a>, <a href="/facts/Porridge/J1H9PsR9">porridge</a>, and other products. Cereals have a high <a href="/facts/Starch/gHAqGfJb">starch</a> content, enabling them to be fermented into alcoholic drinks such as <a href="/facts/Beer/t7qAGDfj">beer</a>. Cereal farming has a substantial <a href="/facts/Environmental_impact_of_agriculture/MRaeMFq2">environmental impact</a>, and is often produced in high-intensity <a href="/facts/Monoculture/SVsR3W9F">monocultures</a>. The environmental harms can be mitigated by <a href="/facts/Sustainable_agriculture/XLdTEVAC">sustainable practices</a> which reduce the impact on soil and improve biodiversity, such as <a href="/facts/No-till_farming/6Vx45SyD">no-till farming</a> and <a href="/facts/Intercropping/AXChXkSL">intercropping</a>.

Cereal open-in-new

Cereal