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Breakfast cereal

Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia - Cite This Source

breakfast cereal, a food made from grain, commonly eaten in the morning. The oldest type of cereal, known as porridge or gruel, requires cooking in water or milk. The modern breakfast cereals, however, are entirely precooked and eaten in cold milk. The first precooked cereal was probably invented in 1863 by James Jackson. He broke up hardened loaves of unleavened whole grain bread into little pieces and served it for breakfast after soaking the brittle chunks overnight in milk. Jackson named this mixture granula. In 1877, Dr. John Harvey Kellogg created a similar cereal called granola, but not until his invention of corn flakes in 1902 did cereal become a commercial success. At first, most cereals were marketed as pure, whole-grain foods. Eventually, however, competition resulted in the addition of sugar and other food additives and in marketing campaigns directed at children, such as the inclusion of a premium or toy in the box. In the 1970s, as cereals came under attack for their lack of nutritive value, many manufacturers began adding nutrients. Unlike most other grain products, breakfast cereals have shown a steady increase in per capita consumption in the United States throughout the 20th cent. Apart from breads, cereal is the most common form in which Americans consume grain.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia Copyright © 2004, Columbia University Press.
Licensed from Columbia University Press

Cereal

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - Cite This Source

Cereal crops or Grains are mostly found cultivated for their edible brans or fruitseeds (i.e., botanically a type of fruit called a caryopsis). Cereal grains are grown in greater quantities and provide more energy worldwide than any other type of crop; they are therefore staple crops. They are also a rich source of carbohydrates. In some developing nations, grain in the form of rice or corn constitutes practically the entire diet. In developed nations, cereal consumption is both more moderate and varied but still substantial.

The word 'cereal' derives from 'Ceres', the name of the pre-Roman goddess of harvest and agriculture. Grains are traditionally called corn in the United Kingdom and Ireland, though that word became specified for maize in the United States, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia.

Production

The following table shows annual production of cereal grains, in 1961, 2005 and 2006, ranked by 2006 production. All but buckwheat and quinoa are true grasses (these two are pseudocereals).

Grain
2006 (t)
2005 (t)
1961 (t)
Maize 695,287,651 712,877,757 205,004,683 A staple food of peoples in North America, South America, and Africa and of livestock worldwide; often called "corn" or "Indian corn" in North America, Australia, and New Zealand.
Rice 634,575,804 631,508,532 284,654,697 The primary cereal of tropical regions
Wheat 605,256,883 628,697,531 222,357,231 The primary cereal of temperate regions
Barley 138,704,379 141,334,270 72,411,104 Grown for malting and livestock on land too poor or too cold for wheat
Sorghum 56,525,765 59,214,205 40,931,625 Important staple food in Asia and Africa and popular worldwide for livestock
Millets 31,783,428 30,589,322 25,703,968 A group of similar but distinct cereals that form an important staple food in Asia and Africa.
Oats 23,106,021 23,552,531 49,588,769 Formerly the staple food of Scotland and popular worldwide for livestock
Rye 13,265,177 15,223,162 35,109,990 Important in cold climates
Triticale 11,338,788 13,293,233 0 Hybrid of wheat and rye, grown similarly to rye
Buckwheat 2,365,158 2,078,299 2,478,596 Pseudocereal, used in Eurasia. Major uses include various pancakes and groats
Fonio 378,409 363,021 178,483 Several varieties of which are grown as food crops in Africa
Quinoa 58,989 58,443 32,435 Pseudocereal, grown in the Andes

Maize, wheat and rice, between them, accounted for 87% of all grain production, worldwide, and 43% of all food calories in 2003. global population growth, climate change, loss of agricultural land to residential and industrial development,, growing consumer demand in China and India and feeding 635 million tons per year to livestock as fodder have pushed up the price of grain. Food riots have recently taken place in many countries across the world. Water deficits, causing decrease in grain production, is one cause of grain independence. It already spurs heavy grain imports in numerous smaller countries, may soon do the same in larger countries, such as China or India. The water tables are falling in scores of countries (including Northern China, the US, and India) due to widespread overpumping using powerful diesel and electric pumps. Other countries affected include Pakistan, Iran, and Mexico. This will eventually lead to water scarcity and cutbacks in grain harvest. Even with the overpumping of its aquifers, China is developing a grain deficit. When this happens, it will almost certainly drive grain prices upward. Most of the 3 billion people projected to be added worldwide by mid-century will be born in countries already experiencing water shortages. One suggested solution is for population growth to be slowed quickly by investing heavily in female literacy and family planning services. Desalination is also considered a viable and effective solution to the problem of water shortages.

After China and India, there is a second tier of smaller countries with large water deficits — Algeria, Egypt, Iran, Mexico, and Pakistan. Four of these already import a large share of their grain. Only Pakistan remains self-sufficient. But with a population expanding by 4 million a year, it will also likely soon turn to the world market for grain.

See also

Notes

External links

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Last updated on Tuesday July 22, 2008 at 15:23:26 PDT (GMT -0700)
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