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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to the I Can't Sleep Podcast, where I help

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<v Speaker 1>you drift off one fact at a time. I'm your host,

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<v Speaker 1>Benjamin Boster, and today's episode is about cereal. A cereal

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<v Speaker 1>is a grass cultivated for its edible grain. Cereals are

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<v Speaker 1>the world's largest crops and are therefore staple foods. They

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<v Speaker 1>include rice, wheat, rye oats, barley, millet, and maize. Edible

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<v Speaker 1>grains from other plant families, such as amrands, buckwheat, and quinoa,

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<v Speaker 1>are pseudo cereals. Most cereals are annuals, producing one crop

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<v Speaker 1>from each planting, though rice is some times grown as

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<v Speaker 1>a perennial. Winter varieties are hardy enough to be planted

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<v Speaker 1>in the autumn, becoming dormant in the winter and harvested

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<v Speaker 1>in spring or early summer. Spring varieties are planted in

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<v Speaker 1>spring and harvested in late summer. The term cereal is

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<v Speaker 1>derived from the name of the Roman goddess of grain,

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<v Speaker 1>crops and fertility series. Cereals were domesticated in the Neolithic

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<v Speaker 1>around eight thousand years ago. Wheat and barley were domesticated

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<v Speaker 1>in the Fertile Crescent. Rice and some millets were domesticated

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<v Speaker 1>in East Asia while sorghum and other millets were domesticated

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<v Speaker 1>in Sudan. Maize was domesticated by indigenous peoples of the

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<v Speaker 1>Americas and Mexico about nine thousand years ago. In the

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<v Speaker 1>twentieth century, cereal productivity was greatly increased by the Green Revolution.

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<v Speaker 1>This increase in production is accompanied a growing international trade,

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<v Speaker 1>with some countries producing large portions of the cereal supply

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<v Speaker 1>for other countries. Wheat, barley, rye, and oats were gathered

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<v Speaker 1>and eaten in the Fertile Crescent during the Early Neolithic.

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<v Speaker 1>Cereal grains nineteen thousand years old have been found in

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<v Speaker 1>the Ohallo two side in Israel, with charred remnants of

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<v Speaker 1>wild wheat and barley. During the same period, farmers in

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<v Speaker 1>China began to farm rice and millet using human made

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<v Speaker 1>floods and fires. Of a part of their cultivation regimen.

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<v Speaker 1>The use of soil conditioners, including manure fish composed in ashes,

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<v Speaker 1>appears to have begun early and developed independently in areas

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<v Speaker 1>of the world, including Mesopodamia, the Nile Valley, and Eastern Asia.

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<v Speaker 1>Cereals that became modern barley and wheat were domesticated some

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<v Speaker 1>eight thousand years ago. In the Fertile Crescent. Millets and

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<v Speaker 1>rice were domesticated in East Asia, while sorghum was domesticated

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<v Speaker 1>in Sedan. Maize arose from a single domestication in Mesoamerica

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<v Speaker 1>about nine thousand years ago. In these agricultural regions, religion

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<v Speaker 1>was often shaped by the divinity associated with segrain and harvests.

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<v Speaker 1>In the Nasopotamian Creation myth, an era of civilization is

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<v Speaker 1>inaugurated by the grain goddess Ashnan. The Roman goddess series

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<v Speaker 1>presided over agriculture, grain crops, fertility, and motherhood. The term

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<v Speaker 1>cereal is derived from Latin serialus of grain, originally meaning

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<v Speaker 1>of the goddess series. Several gods of Antiquity combined agriculture

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<v Speaker 1>and war, the Hittide Sun goddess of Arna, the canaanied Lamu,

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<v Speaker 1>and the Roman Janus. Complex civilizations arose where serial agriculture

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<v Speaker 1>created a surplus, allowing for part of the harvests to

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<v Speaker 1>be appropriated from farmers, allowing power to be concentrated in cities.

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<v Speaker 1>Between nineteen sixty four and twenty twenty three, cereal production

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<v Speaker 1>increased by two hundred thirteen percent, mostly through higher yield

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<v Speaker 1>harvested area rose only by ten percent. Yields of weed

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<v Speaker 1>and rice rose in the Green Revolution, a technological change

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<v Speaker 1>funded by development organizations. The strategies included mechanized tilling, monoculture,

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<v Speaker 1>nitrogen fertilizers, and breeding of new strains of seeds. These

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<v Speaker 1>innovations fended off starvation and increased yield per plant, but

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<v Speaker 1>paid less attention to nutritional quality. The high yield cereal

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<v Speaker 1>crops tend to have low quality proteins with essential amino

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<v Speaker 1>acid deficiency, are high in carbohydrates, and lack balanced to

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<v Speaker 1>essential fatty acids, vitamins, and minerals. So called ancient grains

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<v Speaker 1>and heirloom varieties grew in popularity with the organic movements

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<v Speaker 1>of the early twenty first century, but there is a

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<v Speaker 1>trade off and yield prip plant putting pressure on resource

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<v Speaker 1>poor areas as food crops are replaced with cash crops.

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<v Speaker 1>Grain based foods are fundamental dietary staples in many regions worldwide,

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<v Speaker 1>serving as primary sources of energy and essential nutrients. Consequently,

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<v Speaker 1>reductions in cereal production are the most significant contributors to

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<v Speaker 1>losses and energy and essential micronutrients such as iron, zinc, magnesium, phosphorus, diamond,

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<v Speaker 1>and riboflavin. Cereals are grasses in the poise family that

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<v Speaker 1>produce edible grains. A cereal grain is botanically a caryopsis,

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<v Speaker 1>a fruit where the seed coat is fused with the pericarp.

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<v Speaker 1>Grasses have stems that are hollow excepted the nodes, and

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<v Speaker 1>narrow alternate leaves borne in two ranks. The lower part

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<v Speaker 1>of each leaf encloses the stem, forming a leaf sheath.

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<v Speaker 1>The leaf grows from the base of the blade, an

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<v Speaker 1>adaptation that protects the growing maristem from grazing animals. The

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<v Speaker 1>flowers are usually hermaphroditic, with the exception of maize, and

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<v Speaker 1>mainly anemophilus or wind pollinated, although in sects occasionally play

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<v Speaker 1>a role. Among the best known cereals are maize, rice, wheat, barley, sorghum, millet, oat, rye,

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<v Speaker 1>and triticoe. Some other grains are colloquially called cereals, even

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<v Speaker 1>though they are not grasses. These pseudo cereals include buckwheat, quinoa,

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<v Speaker 1>and amaranth. All cereal crops are cultivated in a similar way.

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<v Speaker 1>Most are annual, so after sowing they are harvested just ones.

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<v Speaker 1>An exception is rice, which although usually treated as an annual,

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<v Speaker 1>can survive as a perennial, producing a rattoon crop. Cereals

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<v Speaker 1>adapted to a temperate climate, such as barley, oats, rye, spelt, tritocoli,

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<v Speaker 1>and wheat, are called cool season cereals. Those preferring a

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<v Speaker 1>tropical climate, such as millet and sorghum, are called warm

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<v Speaker 1>season cereals. Cool season cereals, especially rye followed by barley,

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<v Speaker 1>are hardy. They grow best in fairly cool weather and

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<v Speaker 1>stop growing depending on variety, when the temperature goes above

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<v Speaker 1>around thirty degrees celsius. Warm season cereals, in contrast, require

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<v Speaker 1>hot weather and cannot tolerate frost. Cool season cereals can

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<v Speaker 1>be grown in highlands in the tropics, where they sometimes

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<v Speaker 1>deliver cereal crops in a single year. In the Tropics,

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<v Speaker 1>warm season cereals can be grown at any time of

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<v Speaker 1>the year. In temperate zones, these cereals can only be

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<v Speaker 1>grown when there is no frost. Most cereals are planted

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<v Speaker 1>in tilled soils, which reduces weeds and breaks up the

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<v Speaker 1>surface of a field. Most cereals need regular water in

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<v Speaker 1>the early part of their life cycle. Rice is commonly

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<v Speaker 1>grown in flooded fields, though some strains are grown on

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<v Speaker 1>dry land. Other warm climate cereals, such as sorghum, are

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<v Speaker 1>adapted to arit conditions. Cool season cereals are grown mainly

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<v Speaker 1>in temperate zones. These cereals often have both winter varieties

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<v Speaker 1>for autumn sowing, winter dormancy and early summer harvesting, and

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<v Speaker 1>spring varieties planted in sea spraying and harvested in late summer.

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<v Speaker 1>Winter varieties have the advantage of using water when it

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<v Speaker 1>is plentiful and permitting a second crop after the early harvest.

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<v Speaker 1>They flower only in spring, as they require vernalization exposure

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<v Speaker 1>to cold for a specific period fixed genetically. Spring crops

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<v Speaker 1>grow when it is warmer but less rainy, so they

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<v Speaker 1>may need irrigation. Cereal strains are bread for consistency and

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<v Speaker 1>resilience to the local environmental conditions. Their greatest constraint on

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<v Speaker 1>yield are plant diseases, especially rusts and powdery mildews. Fusarium

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<v Speaker 1>head blide caused by Fusarium gramminierum is a significant limitation

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<v Speaker 1>on a wide variety of cereals. Other pressures include pest

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<v Speaker 1>insects and wildlife like rodents and deer. In conventional agriculture,

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<v Speaker 1>some farmers apply fungicides or pesticides. Annual cereals die when

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<v Speaker 1>they have come to seed and dry up. Harvestine begins

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<v Speaker 1>once the plants and seeds are dry enough. Harvestine in

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<v Speaker 1>mechanized agricultural systems is by combine harvester, a machine which

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<v Speaker 1>drives across the field in a single pass in which

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<v Speaker 1>it cuts the stalks and then threshes and windows a grain.

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<v Speaker 1>In traditional agricultural systems, mostly in the Global South, harvestine

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<v Speaker 1>may be by hand using tools such as scythes and

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<v Speaker 1>grain gradls. Left Over parts of the plant can be

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<v Speaker 1>allowed to decompose or collected as straw. This can be

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<v Speaker 1>used for animal bedding, mulge, and a growing medium for mushrooms.

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<v Speaker 1>It is used in crafts such as building with cob

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<v Speaker 1>or straw bale constructions. If cereals are not completely dry

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<v Speaker 1>when harvested, such as when the weather is rainy, the

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<v Speaker 1>stored grain will be spoiled by mold fungi. This can

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<v Speaker 1>be prevented by drying it artificially. It may then be

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<v Speaker 1>stored in a grain elevator or silo to be sold later.

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<v Speaker 1>Grain stores need to be constructed to protect the grain

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<v Speaker 1>from damage by pests such as seed eating birds and rodents.

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<v Speaker 1>When the cereal is ready to be distributed, it is

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<v Speaker 1>sold to a manufacturing facility that first removes the outer

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<v Speaker 1>layers of the grain for subsequent milling for flour or

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<v Speaker 1>other processing steps to produce foods such as flour, oat meal,

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<v Speaker 1>or pearl barley. In developing countries, processing may be traditional

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<v Speaker 1>and artismal workshops, as with tortilla production in Central America.

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<v Speaker 1>Most cereals can be processed in a variety of ways.

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<v Speaker 1>Rice processing, for instance, can create whole grain or polished

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<v Speaker 1>rice or rice flour. Removal of the germ increases the

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<v Speaker 1>longevity of grain and storage. Some grains can be malted,

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<v Speaker 1>a process of activating enzymes in the seed to cause

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<v Speaker 1>sprouting that turns the complex starches into sugars before drying.

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<v Speaker 1>These sugars can be extracted for industrial uses and further processing,

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<v Speaker 1>such as for making industrial alcohol beer, whiskey, or rice wine,

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<v Speaker 1>or sold directly as a sugar. In the twentieth century,

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<v Speaker 1>industrial processes developed around chemically altering the grain to be

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<v Speaker 1>used for other processes. In particular, maze can be altered

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<v Speaker 1>to produce food additives such as corn starch and high

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<v Speaker 1>fructose corn syrup. Some cereals, such as rice, require little

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<v Speaker 1>preparation before human consumption. For example, to make plain cooked rice,

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<v Speaker 1>raw milk rice ice is washed and boiled. Foods such

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<v Speaker 1>as porridge and muslia may be made largely of whole cereals,

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<v Speaker 1>especially oads, whereas commercial breakfast cereals such as granola may

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<v Speaker 1>be highly processed and combined with sugars, oils, and other products.

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<v Speaker 1>Cereals can be ground to make flour. Wheat flour is

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<v Speaker 1>the main ingredient of bread and pasta. Maize flour has

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<v Speaker 1>been important in Mesoamericas since ancient times, with foods such

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<v Speaker 1>as Mexican tortillas and demales. Rye flour is a constituent

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<v Speaker 1>of bread in Central and northern Europe, while rice flour

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<v Speaker 1>is common in Asia. A cereal grain consists of starchy endosperm, germ,

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<v Speaker 1>and bran. Whole meal flour contains all of these white

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<v Speaker 1>flowers without some or all of the germ or bran.

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<v Speaker 1>Cereals and their related byproducts such as hay, are routinely

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<v Speaker 1>fed to farm animals. Common cereals as animal food include maize, barley, wheat,

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<v Speaker 1>and oats. Most grains may be treated chemically or made

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<v Speaker 1>into silage, mechanically, flattened or crimped, and kept in air

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<v Speaker 1>tight storage until used, or stored dry with a moisture

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<v Speaker 1>content of less than fourteen percent. Commercially, grains are often

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<v Speaker 1>combined with other materials and formed into feed pellets. As

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<v Speaker 1>whole grains, cereals provide carbohydrates, polyunsaturated fats, protein, vitamins, and minerals.

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<v Speaker 1>When processed by the removal of the bran and germ,

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<v Speaker 1>all that remains is the starchy endosperm. Nutrients sated to

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<v Speaker 1>cereal during nutritional fortification include iron, calcium, zinc, and folate.

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<v Speaker 1>In some developing countries, cereals constitute a majority of daily sustenance.

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<v Speaker 1>In developed countries, cereal consumption is moderate and varied, but

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<v Speaker 1>still substantial, primarily in the form of refined and processed grains.

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<v Speaker 1>Some cereals are deficient in the essential amino acidlyzing, obliging

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<v Speaker 1>vegetarian cultures to combine their diet of cereal grains with

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<v Speaker 1>legumes to obtain a balanced diet. Many legumes, however, are

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<v Speaker 1>deficient in the essential amino acid messionine, which grains contain. Thus,

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<v Speaker 1>a combination of legumes with grains forms a well balanced

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<v Speaker 1>diet for vegetarians. Some combinations include lentils with rice, beans

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<v Speaker 1>with maize, tortillas, tofu with rice, and peanut butter with

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<v Speaker 1>whole grain wheat bread as sandwiches. In several other cultures,

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<v Speaker 1>including the Americas, for feeding animals, the amount of crude

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<v Speaker 1>protein measured in grains is expressed as grain crude protein concentration.

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<v Speaker 1>Cereals constitute the world's largest commodities by tonnage, whether measured

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<v Speaker 1>by production or by internation trade. Several major producers of

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<v Speaker 1>cereals dominate the market. Because of the scale of the trade,

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<v Speaker 1>some countries have become reliant on imports. Thus cereals pricing

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<v Speaker 1>or availability can have outsized impacts on countries with a

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<v Speaker 1>food trade imbalance and thus food security. Cereals are the

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<v Speaker 1>world's largest crops by tonnage of grain produced. Three cereals, maize, wheat,

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<v Speaker 1>and rice together accounted for ninety one percent of all

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<v Speaker 1>cereal production worldwide in twenty twenty four and forty percent

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<v Speaker 1>of the global availability of food energy in twenty twenty three,

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<v Speaker 1>while the production of oats and rye has drastically fallen

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<v Speaker 1>from their nineteen sixties levels. Cereals not included in the

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<v Speaker 1>Yewans Food and Agriculture Organization statistics include wild rice, which

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<v Speaker 1>is grown in small amounts in North America, and tef,

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<v Speaker 1>an ancient grain that is a staple in Ethiopia. Tef

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<v Speaker 1>has grown in Sub Saharan Africa as a grass, primarily

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<v Speaker 1>for feeding horses. It is high in fiber and protein.

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<v Speaker 1>Its flour is often used to make injera. It can

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<v Speaker 1>be eaten as a warm breakfast cereal like farina, with

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<v Speaker 1>a chocolate or nutty flavor. Cereals are the most traded

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<v Speaker 1>commodities by quantity in twenty twenty three, with wheat, maize,

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<v Speaker 1>and rice the main cereals involved. The Americas in Europe

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<v Speaker 1>are the largest exporters and Asia is the largest importer.

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<v Speaker 1>In twenty twenty three, Brazil was the largest exporter of maize,

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<v Speaker 1>while India was the largest exporter of rice and China

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<v Speaker 1>the largest importer of maize and of rice. Many other

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<v Speaker 1>countries trade cereals both as exporters and as importers. Cereals

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<v Speaker 1>are traded as futures on World commodity markets, helping to

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<v Speaker 1>mitigate the risks of changes in price, for example, if

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<v Speaker 1>harvests fail. A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit

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<v Speaker 1>with or without an attached whole layer, harvested for human

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<v Speaker 1>or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain producing plant.

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<v Speaker 1>The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals

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<v Speaker 1>and l legumes. After being harvested, dry grains are more

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<v Speaker 1>durable than other staple foods, such as starchy fruits and tubers.

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<v Speaker 1>This durability has made grains well suited to industrial agriculture,

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<v Speaker 1>since they can be mechanically harvested, transported by rail or ship,

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<v Speaker 1>stored for long periods in silos, and milled for flour

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<v Speaker 1>or pressed for oil. The grain market is a major

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<v Speaker 1>global agricultural market that includes crops such as maize, rice, soybeans, wheat,

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<v Speaker 1>and other grains in the grass family. A grain narrowly

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<v Speaker 1>defined as a caryopsis a fruit with its wall fused

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<v Speaker 1>onto the single seed inside, belonging to a cereals such

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<v Speaker 1>as wheat, maize, or rice. More broadly, in agronomy and commerce,

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<v Speaker 1>seeds or fruits from other plant families are called grains

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<v Speaker 1>if they resemble cereal caryopsis. For example, amrands is sold

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<v Speaker 1>as grain, ameranths and amorand products may be described as

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<v Speaker 1>whole grains. The pre Columbian civilizations of the Andes had

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<v Speaker 1>grain based food systems, but at higher elevations, none of

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<v Speaker 1>the grains belonged to the cereal family. All three grains

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<v Speaker 1>native to the Andes or broad leaved plants, rather than grasses.

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<v Speaker 1>Starchy grains from broad leaf plant families are cultivated as

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<v Speaker 1>nutritious alternatives to cereals. The three main pseudo cereal grains

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<v Speaker 1>or amerans, buckwheat, and quinoa. Pulses, the dried seeds of

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<v Speaker 1>Legiumes members of the pea family, have a higher protein

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<v Speaker 1>content than most other plant foods, that around twenty percent,

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<v Speaker 1>while soybeans have as much as thirty five percent. As

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<v Speaker 1>is the case with all other whole plant foods, pulses

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<v Speaker 1>also contain carbohydrates and fat. Common pulses include chickpeas, common beans,

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<v Speaker 1>common peas, pava beans, lentils, lima beans, lupins, mung beans, peanuts,

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<v Speaker 1>pigeon peas, runner beans, soybeans. Oil Seed grains are grown

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<v Speaker 1>primarily for the extraction of their edible oil. Vegetable oils

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<v Speaker 1>provide dietary energy and some essential fatty acids. They are

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<v Speaker 1>also used as fuel and lubricants. Because grains are small, hard,

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<v Speaker 1>and dry, they can be stored, measured, and transported more

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<v Speaker 1>readily than can other kinds of food crops such as

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<v Speaker 1>fresh fruits, roots, and tubers. The development of grain agriculture

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<v Speaker 1>allowed excess food to be produced and stored easily, which

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<v Speaker 1>could have led to the creation of the first temporary

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<v Speaker 1>settlements and the division of society into classes. This assumption

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<v Speaker 1>that grain agriculture led to early settlements and social stratification

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<v Speaker 1>has been challenged by James C. Scott in his book

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<v Speaker 1>Against the Grain. He argues that the transition from hunter

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<v Speaker 1>gatherer societies to settled agrarian communities was not a voluntary

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<v Speaker 1>choice driven by the benefits of increased food production due

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<v Speaker 1>to the long storage potential of grains, but rather that

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<v Speaker 1>the shift towards settlements was a coerce transformation imposed by

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<v Speaker 1>dominant members of a society seeking to expand control over

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<v Speaker 1>labor and resources. The grain trade refers to the local

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<v Speaker 1>and international trade in cereals such as wheat, barley, maize, rice,

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<v Speaker 1>and other food grains. Grain is an important trade item

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<v Speaker 1>because it is easily stored and transported with limited spoilage,

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<v Speaker 1>unlike other agricultural products. Healthy grain supply and trade is

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<v Speaker 1>important to many societies in a caloric base for most

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<v Speaker 1>food systems, as well as an important role in animal

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<v Speaker 1>feed For animal agriculture, The grain trade began as early

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<v Speaker 1>as agricultural settlement identified in many of the early cultures

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<v Speaker 1>that adopted sedentary farming. Major societal changes have been directly

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<v Speaker 1>connected to the grain trade, such as the fall of

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<v Speaker 1>the Roman Empire. From the early modern period onward, grain

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<v Speaker 1>trade has been an important part of colonial expansion and

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<v Speaker 1>foreign policy. The geopolitical dominances of countries like Australia, the

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<v Speaker 1>United States, Canada, and the Soviet Union during the twentieth

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<v Speaker 1>century was connected with their status as grain surplus countries.