ABSTRACT
Ce r e a l grains provide the main source of protein for the world, directly by being processed into human foods and indirectly by being used as animal products, such as meat and eggs, following the feeding of grains to animals. Cereal grains are grown extensively in all continents of the globe, with the ob vious exception of Antarctica. They form the staple diet for much of the world’s population, and they make a major contribution to diets in the developed world. The domestication of wild grasses into grain-bearing plants for cultivation is the story of agriculture and the basis of civilization, generally. As a result, mankind discovered the advantages of replacing the hunter-gatherer life of the nomad with residence in a fixed place of habitation, with reliance on the ce real grains for a reliable food source.
