The long history of humanity and grains continues to be written

ON October 16, the world will mark World Food Day, an annual event that commemorates the creation of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Since the aim is to raise awareness about hunger and poverty in the world, we are revisiting the essential role that one kind of food has always played in our lives: grains. In this era of global warming, their role in our daily lives takes on new forms -- an opportunity to look at some lesser known varieties..

Prehistoric humans did not feed themselves simply through gathering. Nor were they exclusively hunting wooly mammoths either, even if over time, hunting did lead them to eat greater quantities of meat. In the period 3600 to 3300 BCE, they were already eating cereals.

A study published in the journal Nature Communications revealed at the beginning of September that British and Norwegian researchers had detected consumption of cereals in the Neolithic era.

They even found evidence about how grains were cooked, with wheat and barley appearing to be prepared in dedicated containers. The cereals may have been boiled and eaten like soups that could be enhanced with meat or in a form similar to porridge.

Meanwhile in Egypt, during the time of the Pharaohs, both of these grains formed part of the basic diet of the population, who took advantage of the Nile delta and valley to maintain their crops when the river soaked the surrounding area. Among the Mayan and other Central American peoples in pre-Columbian times, corn was a sacred plant.

In Europe throughout the Middle Ages, cereals were an indispensable part of a staple food: bread. Bread was a mainstay on the table of farmers and the poorest members of the population as well as on the tables in noble households (in different varieties and forms).

And a form of bread takes on a central element in a key ritual in Catholic religion with Communion bread, while bread also plays a symbolic role in the Jewish religion's Shabbat practices. Is it a coincidence that the date of World Food Day, October 16, is also World Bread Day?

French agricultural engineer Eric BirlouezIn recounts in his latest book published in April entitled "Petite et grande histoire des céréales et légumes secs" (Stories large and small of grains and pulses) tells how "the first instances of agriculture in the world always originated with the domestication of a few wild cereals and legumes. This 'innovation' radically transformed the diet and lifestyle of the first farmers.

It would give rise to cities, civilizations, social differentiation and writing." The word cereal is in fact derived from the name of Ceres, the goddess of agriculture and harvest in Roman mythology.

World record in cereal production

The latest droughts that have weakened crops in France and in a large part of Europe serve as a reminder of how essential wheat, barley and other grains have always been to our diet, either by being transformed into foods that arrive directly on our tables, or being used to feed the livestock we eat.

With the rise in bread prices, often seen as an economic index of daily life, it's easy to see to what extent grains and cereals structure our daily life.

At the very beginning of the year, just before Russia's invasion of Ukraine drew the world's attention to just how much Volodymyr Zelenskyy's country is the breadbasket of Europe, the International Grains Council indicated that the world was consuming more grain than ever. For the 2021/2022 period, world production has been estimated at 2.291 billion mt, an absolute record "despite difficult agricultural weather in some parts of the world."

Grains are such a basic part of our daily diets it's easy to nearly forget about them or at least relegate them to playing a background role. However chefs are showing us just how diverse and interesting grain-based dishes can be.

Recent cookbooks such as Joshua McFadden's "Grains for Every Season: Rethinking our Way with Grains," brings together dishes both savory and sweet featuring everything from farro to buckwheat and corn, while Abra Berens' "Grist: A Practical Guide to Cooking Grains, Beans, Seeds and Legumes" takes a nearly encyclopedic approach to the subject.

And as gluten-free diets become increasingly common, it's important to remember that grains are not inevitably synonymous with gluten.

Expanding our grain repertoire

While different cultures have different grain staples, ancestral varieties such as millet, quinoa, buckwheat are being brought back to the forefront in European cuisine. The grain sections of food stores should continue to expand as other cereals are exported from various parts of the world to arrive on shelves.

One example of a grain that is newly making waves in Europe is fonio, which West African countries have been growing for thousands of years. The cultivation of this seed, with a presentation somewhere between bulgur and quinoa, requires very little water -- making it a candidate for being a food of the future. Sorghum is also gaining in popularity thanks to its very heat-resistant plant.

Last March, NASA released a video that showed very concretely how global warming could change cereal crops in the world in 2100. Taking into account long-term climate forecasts and projected greenhouse gas emissions, it suggests that corn would be the hardest hit with a potential 24% drop in world production, while wheat production would increase by 17% by the end of the century.

While corn crops are weakened by high temperatures, wheat crops benefit from higher concentrations of carbon dioxide, which could have a beneficial effect on photosynthesis. Wheat cultivation is expected to increase in England, Russia and Eastern Europe, as well as in Turkey, Syria and Iran, while it will decrease in India, the world's second largest producer. Tomorrow's world of grains will likely look significantly different than it does today...