ABSTRACT

Cereal crops constitute a major food source for humankind. In the developing countries, cereals provide two-thirds or more of the dietary calories. Rice in Asia, maize (corn) in South America, sorghum in Africa, and wheat in the Middle East have been recognized as staple foods upon whose yields famine or feast depends. Even in the developed countries, like Russia and Japan, cereals still provide more than half of the dietary calories. Cereals also constitute an indirect dietary source for people in highly developed countries, like the United States and Canada, where grain is fed to livestock and the population depends on animal food (1).