The cereal grains: providing our food, feed and fuel needs

Cereal grains are essential to our dietary needs, as well as for animal feeding and industrial processing. The cereal species of agricultural significance are wheat, triticale, rye, barley, oats, maize, rice, sorghum and the millets, all members of the grass family. Buckwheat and quinoa (classed as pseudocereals) are classed with the cereals in the statistics provided by the Food and Agriculture Organization. Distinct from the cereal grains are the legumes and oilseeds. Whereas all these grains contribute to our needs of food, animal feed and even engine fuel, the cereal grains make the greatest contribution