Cereal is grain that farmers grow for food, especially wheat, rice, corn, oats, and barley. These crops feed more people than any other food source on Earth. Ancient civilizations formed around cereal farming: wheat in the Middle East, rice in Asia, and corn in the Americas. Without cereal grains, human civilization as we know it wouldn't exist.

When you see golden wheat fields or rice paddies stretching to the horizon, you're looking at cereal crops that will eventually become bread, pasta, tortillas, or rice bowls.

The word also means the breakfast food made from processed grains, usually eaten with milk. Breakfast cereal became popular in America in the late 1800s when health reformers wanted a nutritious morning meal that didn't require cooking. Today's cereals range from simple oatmeal and corn flakes to sweetened varieties with marshmallows and chocolate.

When someone talks about cereal crops or the cereal industry, they mean grain farming on a large scale. When they ask what kind of cereal you want for breakfast, they mean the boxed food in your pantry or a bowl on your table.