What is the history of cereal?

Answer 1

Oats did not become an important food crop as early as wheat or barley. Modern oats probably originated from the Asian wild red oat. Because Asia Minor currently has the most variety of wild oats, it's likely that's where oats originated. Oat grains found in Egypt from about 2,000 B.C., probably were weeds. The oldest known cultivated oats were found in caves in Switzerland and are believed to date to before 450 BC. Oats became a staple in Germany, Ireland, Scotland, and Scandivia. They were first brought to North America with other grains in 1602. As early as 1786, George Washington sowed 580 acres in oats. By the 1860s and 1870s, oats were being grown in the middle and upper Mississippi Valley, which the major growing area today. With the advance of knowledge about nutrition, oats were recognized for their health benefits in the mid 1980s.

Answer 2

The first cereal grains, including wheat and barley, were domesticated about 12,000 years ago by farming communities in the fertile crescent region of southwest Asia.