Cereal Production versus Population Growth

Of all the issues humankind faces nowadays, the most significant are population growth, food availability, and energy. These three interlinked issues are closely related to cereals. Ninety-eight percent of the population growth experienced today is in the developing world. During the past century, the number of inhabitants almost quadrupled to 6.2 billion people, and the population projected to year 2050 is at least 

Cereals are the main food source for mankind. By far they provide most of the calories, protein, B-vitamins, and minerals. In most countries, diets have a single cereal as the primary staple. The most widely used are rice, wheat, and maize, which provide more than 90% of the total cereal calories. These grains constitute the main staples for Asia, Europe, and America, respectively. The inhabitants of developing countries have a higher dependency on cereal-based foods because they are cheaper compared to animal foods. 

Relationship between cereal production and world population from 1960 to 

Direct Feed Uses Direct Feed Uses Industrial Processing 

FIGURE 1.2 Estimation of the postharvest losses and utilization of cereal grains in 2007. 

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