Staple food - wikipedia Staple food Spelt, a species of wheat and a historically important staple food Various types of potatoes A staple food, or simply a staple, is a food that is eaten routinely and in such quantities that it constitutes a dominant portion of a standard diet for a given people, supplying a large fraction of energy needs and generally forming a significant proportion of the intake of other nutrients as well. The staple food of a specific society may be eaten as often as every day or every meal, and most people live on a diet based on just a small number of staples. Staple foods vary from place to place, but typically they are inexpensive or readily - available foods that supply one or more of the three organic macronutrients needed for survival and health : carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. Typical examples of staples include tubers and roots ; and grains, legumes, and other seeds. Early agricultural civilizations valued the foods that they established as staples because, in addition to providing necessary nutrition, they generally are suitable for storage over long periods of time without decay. Such nonperishable foods are the only possible staples during seasons of shortage, such as dry seasons or cold temperate winters, against which times harvests have been stored. During seasons of plenty, wider choices of foods may be available. Main staple foods are derived either from vegetables and animal products, including cereals ( such as rice, wheat, maize, millet, or sorghum ), starchy tubers or root vegetables ( such as potatoes, cassava, yams, or taro ), meat, fish, eggs, milk, and cheese. Other staple foods include pulses ( dried legumes ), sago ( derived from the pith of the sago palm tree ), and fruits ( such as breadfruit and plantains ). Staple foods may also contain ( depending on the region ) : olive oil, coconut oil and sugar ( e.g., from plantains ). Contents 1 Demographics 2 Production 3 Refining 4 Part of balanced nutrition 4.1 Nutritional content 5 Gallery of food staples 6 See also 7 References Demographics Average kcal / person / day, 1979 - 1981 Average kcal / person / day, 2001 - 2003 no data < 1600 1600 - 1800 1800 - 2000 2000 - 2200 2200 - 2400 2400 - 2600 2600 - 2800 2800 - 3000 3000 - 3200 3200 - 3400 3400 - 3600 > 3600 Food energy consumption per person, per day, worldwide. Except for war - torn countries, the world is eating more staples per capita per day, despite rising world population. Of the more than 50,000 edible plant species in the world, only a few hundred contribute significantly to human food supplies. Although there are over 10,000 species in the cereal family, just a few have been widely cultivated over the past 2,000 years. The staple food in different parts of the world is a function of weather patterns, local terrain, farming constraints, acquired tastes and ecosystems. For example, the main energy source staples in the average African diet are cereals ( 46 percent ), roots and tubers ( 20 percent ) and animal products ( seven percent ). In Western Europe the main staples in the average diet are animal products ( 33 percent ), cereals ( 26 percent ), and roots and tubers ( four percent ). Most of the global human population lives on a diet based on one or more of the following staples : rice, wheat, maize ( corn ), millet, sorghum, roots and tubers ( potatoes, cassava, yams and taro ), and animal products such as meat, milk, eggs, cheese and fish. Regional staples include rye, soybeans, barley, oats, and teff. Just 15 crop plants provide 90 percent of the world 's food energy intake ( exclusive of meat ), with rice, maize, and wheat comprising two - thirds of human food consumption. The three are the staples of about 80 percent of the world population, and rice feeds almost half of humanity. Roots and tubers, meanwhile, are important staples for over one billion people in the developing world, accounting for roughly 40 percent of the food eaten by half the population of sub-Saharan Africa. Roots and tubers are high in carbohydrates, calcium, and vitamin C, but low in protein. Cassava root is a major staple food in the developing world, providing a basic diet for around 500 million people. With economic development and free trade, many countries have shifted away from low - nutrient - density staple foods to higher - nutrient - density staples, as well as towards greater meat consumption. Despite this trend, there is growing recognition of the importance of traditional staple crops in nutrition. Efforts are underway to identify better strains with superior nutrition, disease resistance, and higher yields. Some foods like quinoa -- a pseudocereal grain that originally came from the Andes -- were also staple foods centuries ago. Oca, ulluku and amaranth seed are other foods claimed to be historical Andean staples. Pemmican was a staple of the Plains Indians of North America. In 2010, the global consumption of `` speciality grains '' such as quinoa was very small compared to other staples such as rice, wheat, and maize. These grains, once popular but then forgotten, are being reevaluated and reintroduced. Production Most staple food is produced using modern and conventional farming practices. However, the production of staple food using organic farming methods is growing. Ten staples that feed the world ( by annual production ) World production 2012 Average world yield World 's most productive countries 2012 World 's largest producing countries ( 2013 ) Rank Crop ( metric tons ) ( tons per hectare ) ( tons per hectare ) Country ( metric tons ) Country Maize ( corn ) 873 million 5.1 25.9 United States 354 million United States Rice 738 million 4.3 9.5 Egypt 204 million China Wheat 671 million 3.1 8.9 New Zealand 122 million China Potatoes 365 million 17.2 45.4 Netherlands 96 million China 5 Cassava 269 million 12.5 34.8 India 47 million Nigeria 6 Soybeans 241 million 2.4 4.4 Egypt 91 million United States 7 Sweet potatoes 108 million 13.5 33.3 Senegal 71 million China 8 Yams 59.5 million 10.5 28.3 Colombia 36 million Nigeria 9 Sorghum 57.0 million 1.5 86.7 United States 10 million United States 10 Plantain 37.2 million 6.3 31.1 El Salvador 9 million Uganda Refining Rice is most commonly cooked and eaten as entire grains, but most other cereals are milled into flour or meal, which is used to make bread, noodles / pasta, porridges and `` mushes '' like mealie pap. Mashed root vegetables can be used to make porridge - like dishes, including poi and fufu. Pulses ( such as chickpeas, from which gram flour is made ) and starchy root vegetables such as canna rhizomes can also be made into flour. Part of balanced nutrition Maize, the most produced food staple in the world Although nutritious, vegetable staples generally do not provide a full range of nutrients, so other foods need to be added to the diet, to ward off malnutrition. The deficiency disease pellagra is associated with a diet consisting primarily of maize ; the disease beriberi with a diet of white ( refined ) rice. Research published in the journal Nature has indicated that the nutritional value of some staple foods are negatively impacted by higher levels of carbon dioxide. Nutritional content The following table shows the nutrient content of major staple vegetable foods in raw form, with the caveat that raw grains are not edible and can not be digested. Raw grains must be sprouted, or prepared and cooked for human consumption. In sprouted and cooked form, the relative nutritional and anti-nutritional contents of each of these grains is remarkably different from that of raw form of these grains ( reported in this table ). Potatoes must also be cooked and should not be sprouted. Nutrient content of major staple foods per 100 g portion Nutrient component : Maize / Corn Rice ( white ) Rice ( brown ) Wheat Potato Cassava Soybean ( Green ) Sweet potato Yam Sorghum Plantain RDA Water ( g ) 10 12 10 13 79 60 68 77 70 9 65 3000 Energy ( kJ ) 1528 1528 1549 1369 322 670 615 360 494 1419 511 8368 -- 10,460 Protein ( g ) 9.4 7.1 7.9 12.6 2.0 1.4 13.0 1.6 1.5 11.3 1.3 50 Fat ( g ) 4.74 0.66 2.92 1.54 0.09 0.28 6.8 0.05 0.17 3.3 0.37 Carbohydrates ( g ) 74 80 77 71 17 38 11 20 28 75 32 130 Fiber ( g ) 7.3 1.3 3.5 12.2 1.8 4.2 4.1 6.3 2.3 30 Sugar ( g ) 0.64 0.12 0.85 0.41 0.78 1.7 0 4.18 0.5 0 15 Calcium ( mg ) 7 28 23 29 12 16 197 30 17 28 1000 Iron ( mg ) 2.71 0.8 1.47 3.19 0.78 0.27 3.55 0.61 0.54 4.4 0.6 8 Magnesium ( mg ) 127 25 143 126 23 21 65 25 21 0 37 400 Phosphorus ( mg ) 210 115 333 288 57 27 194 47 55 287 34 700 Potassium ( mg ) 287 115 223 363 421 271 620 337 816 350 499 4700 Sodium ( mg ) 35 5 7 6 14 15 55 9 6 1500 Zinc ( mg ) 2.21 1.09 2.02 2.65 0.29 0.34 0.99 0.3 0.24 0 0.14 11 Copper ( mg ) 0.31 0.22 0.43 0.11 0.10 0.13 0.15 0.18 - 0.08 0.9 Manganese ( mg ) 0.49 1.09 3.74 3.99 0.15 0.38 0.55 0.26 0.40 - - 2.3 Selenium ( μg ) 15.5 15.1 70.7 0.3 0.7 1.5 0.6 0.7 0 1.5 55 Vitamin C ( mg ) 0 0 0 0 19.7 20.6 29 2.4 17.1 0 18.4 90 Thiamin ( B1 ) ( mg ) 0.39 0.07 0.40 0.30 0.08 0.09 0.44 0.08 0.11 0.24 0.05 Riboflavin ( B2 ) ( mg ) 0.20 0.05 0.09 0.12 0.03 0.05 0.18 0.06 0.03 0.14 0.05 1.3 Niacin ( B3 ) ( mg ) 3.63 1.6 5.09 5.46 1.05 0.85 1.65 0.56 0.55 2.93 0.69 16 Pantothenic acid ( B5 ) ( mg ) 0.42 1.01 1.49 0.95 0.30 0.11 0.15 0.80 0.31 - 0.26 5 Vitamin B6 ( mg ) 0.62 0.16 0.51 0.3 0.30 0.09 0.07 0.21 0.29 - 0.30 1.3 Folate Total ( B9 ) ( μg ) 19 8 20 38 16 27 165 11 23 0 22 400 Vitamin A ( IU ) 214 0 0 9 13 180 14187 138 0 1127 5000 Vitamin E, alpha - tocopherol ( mg ) 0.49 0.11 0.59 1.01 0.01 0.19 0 0.26 0.39 0 0.14 15 Vitamin K1 ( μg ) 0.3 0.1 1.9 1.9 1.9 1.9 0 1.8 2.6 0 0.7 120 Beta - carotene ( μg ) 97 0 5 8 0 8509 83 0 457 10,500 Lutein + zeaxanthin ( μg ) 1355 0 220 8 0 0 0 0 0 30 Saturated fatty acids ( g ) 0.67 0.18 0.58 0.26 0.03 0.07 0.79 0.02 0.04 0.46 0.14 Monounsaturated fatty acids ( g ) 1.25 0.21 1.05 0.2 0.00 0.08 1.28 0.00 0.01 0.99 0.03 Polyunsaturated fatty acids ( g ) 2.16 0.18 1.04 0.63 0.04 0.05 3.20 0.01 0.08 1.37 0.07 yellow corn raw unenriched long - grain white rice hard red winter wheat raw potato with flesh and skin raw cassava raw green soybeans raw sweet potato raw sorghum raw yam raw plantains raw long - grain brown rice Note : The highlighted value is the highest nutrient density amongst these staples. Other foods of the world, consumed in smaller quantities, may have nutrient densities higher than these values. Gallery of food staples Boiled white rice Bread made from wheat flour Kidney beans Amaranth ( left ) and wheat seeds Cassava Sweet potato Edamame ( green soybeans ) Sorghum seeds and popped sorghum Chinese yam Plantains Ulluco Oca Taro Millet Quinoa Maize Potatoes See also Wikimedia Commons has media related to Staple food. Food portal Famine food Cash crop List of foods Maize Rice Vavilov Center References ^ Jump up to : United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization : Agriculture and Consumer Protection. `` Dimensions of Need - Staples : What do people eat ? ''. Retrieved 15 October 2010. Jump up ^ `` Around the world in dishes made with pulses ''. Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations. 18 November 2015. Retrieved 23 September 2017. Jump up ^ The Sago Palm : The Food and Environmental Challenges of the 21st Century. Kyoto University Press. 2015. p. 331. ISBN 978 - 1 - 920901 - 13 - 4. Jump up ^ Toensmeier, Eric ( 25 April 2013 ). `` Staple Fruits of the World ''. Perrenial Solutions. Retrieved 23 September 2017. Jump up ^ `` African Food Staples ''. Retrieved 29 May 2015. Jump up ^ `` Olive Oil & Health - All Olive Oil ''. Retrieved 29 May 2015. Jump up ^ `` How Sugar Went From a Condiment to a Diet Staple ''. Jump up ^ `` Dimensions of Need : An atlas of food and agriculture ''. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. 1995. Jump up ^ E.A. Oelke ; et al. `` Quinoa ''. University of Minnesota. Jump up ^ Arbizu and Tapia ( 1994 ). `` Plant Production and Protection Series No. 26. FAO, Rome, Italy ''. FAO / Purdue University. Jump up ^ John E. Foster. `` Pemmican ''. The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved 29 May 2015. Jump up ^ Allianz. `` Food security : Ten Crops that Feed the World ''. Allianz. Jump up ^ `` Food and Agricultural commodities production / Commodities by regions ''. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. 2012. Jump up ^ The numbers in this column are country average ; regional farm productivity within the country varies, with some farms even higher. Jump up ^ `` FAOSTAT : Production - Crops, 2010 data ''. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. 2011. Jump up ^ `` Food and Agricultural commodities production / Countries by commodity ( 2013 data ) ''. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 24 April 2016. Jump up ^ United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization : Agriculture and Consumer Protection. `` Rice and Human Nutrition '' ( PDF ). Retrieved 15 October 2010. Jump up ^ Wernick, Adam ( 29 October 2017 ). `` Global warming threatens nutrition levels in staple crops ''. Public Radio International ( PRI ). Retrieved 30 October 2017. Jump up ^ `` Nutrient data laboratory ''. United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved August 10, 2016. 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Question: why are grains a staple around the world
Answer: in addition to providing necessary nutrition, they generally are suitable for storage over long periods of time without decay