Wsrtjtyk

A staple food, food staple, 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. A 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 food staples.^[1] Specific staples vary from place to place, but typically are inexpensive or readily available foods that supply one or more of the macronutrients needed for survival and health: carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. Typical examples include tubers and roots, grains, legumes, and 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.

Staple foods are derived either from vegetables or animal products, and common staples include cereals (such as rice, wheat, maize, millet, and sorghum), starchy tubers or root vegetables (such as potatoes, cassava, sweet potatoes, yams, or taro), meat, fish, eggs, milk, and cheese.^[1] Other staple foods include pulses (dried legumes),^[2]sago (derived from the pith of the sago palm tree),^[3] and fruits (such as breadfruit and plantains). Staple foods may also include (depending on the region): olive oil, coconut oil and sugar (e.g. from plantains).^[4][5][6]

Demographics

.mw-parser-output .tmulti .thumbinner{display:flex;flex-direction:column}.mw-parser-output .tmulti .trow{display:flex;flex-direction:row;clear:left;flex-wrap:wrap;width:100%;box-sizing:border-box}.mw-parser-output .tmulti .tsingle{margin:1px;float:left}.mw-parser-output .tmulti .theader{clear:both;font-weight:bold;text-align:center;align-self:center;background-color:transparent;width:100%}.mw-parser-output .tmulti .thumbcaption{text-align:left;background-color:transparent}.mw-parser-output .tmulti .text-align-left{text-align:left}.mw-parser-output .tmulti .text-align-right{text-align:right}.mw-parser-output .tmulti .text-align-center{text-align:center}@media all and (max-width:720px){.mw-parser-output .tmulti .thumbinner{width:100%!important;box-sizing:border-box;max-width:none!important;align-items:center}.mw-parser-output .tmulti .trow{justify-content:center}.mw-parser-output .tmulti .tsingle{float:none!important;max-width:100%!important;box-sizing:border-box;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .tmulti .thumbcaption{text-align:center}}

The dominant staple foods in different parts of the world are 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 (7 percent). In Western Europe the main staples in the average diet are animal products (33 percent), cereals (26 percent), and roots and tubers (4 percent).

Most of the human population lives on a diet based on one or more of the following staples: cereals (rice, wheat, maize (corn), millet, and sorghum), roots and tubers (potatoes, cassava, yams and taro), and animal products such as meat, milk, eggs, cheese and fish. Regional staples include the plants rye, soybeans, barley, oats, and teff.

Just 15 plant crops provide 90 percent of the world's food energy intake (exclusive of meat), with rice, maize, and wheat comprising 2/3 of human food consumption. These three are the staples of about 80 percent of the world population,^[7] 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, for example, is a major food staple in the developing world, a basic food source 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.^{[citation needed]} Agriculture constantly seeks to identify better plant strains with superior nutrition, disease resistance, and higher yields.^{[citation needed]}

Some foods like quinoa—a pseudocereal grain that originally came from the Andes—were also staples centuries ago.^[8]Oca tubers, ulluku tubers and grain amaranth are other foods claimed to be historical Andean staples.^[9]Pemmican made from dried meat and fat was a staple of the Plains Indians of North America.^[10] In 2010, the global consumption of "speciality grains", such as quinoa, was very small compared to other staples, such as rice, wheat, and maize.^{[citation needed]} These grains, once popular, are being reevaluated and reintroduced to certain markets.^{[citation needed]}

Production

Most staple food is currently produced using modern, conventional farming practices. However, the production of staple food using organic farming methods is growing.

Ten staple foods of global importance (ranked by annual production)^[11]

		World production, 2012[12]	Average world yield, 2010	World's most productive countries,[13] 2012[14]		World's largest producing countries, 2013[15]
Rank	Crop	(metric tons)	(tons per hectare)	(tons per hectare)	Country	(metric tons)	Country
1	Maize (Corn)	873 million	5.1	25.9	United States	354 million	United States
2	Rice	738 million	4.3	9.5	Egypt	204 million	China
3	Wheat	671 million	3.1	8.9	New Zealand	122 million	China
4	Potatoes	365 million	17.2	45.4	Netherlands	96 million	China
5	Cassava	269 million	12.5	34.8	Indonesia	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

Processing

Rice is most commonly cooked and eaten as separate entire grains, but most other staple cereals are milled into a flour or meal that can be used to make bread, noodles, pasta, porridge and mushes like mealie pap. Root vegetables can be mashed and used to make porridge-like dishes such as 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.

Nutrition

Plant-based food staples may not provide a full range of nutrients. The nutrient-deficiency disease pellagra is associated with a diet consisting primarily of maize, while the disease beriberi is associated with a diet of refined white rice.^[16]Scurvy can result from a lack of vitamin C, also known as ascorbic acid. One author indicated that the nutritional value of some staple foods are negatively impacted by higher levels of carbon dioxide, as occurs in climate change.^[17]

Comparison of 10 staple foods

The following table shows the nutrient content of 10 major staple vegetable foods in raw form, with the caveat that raw grains are not edible and cannot be digested. Raw grains must be cooked, sprouted, or otherwise prepared for human consumption. In sprouted and cooked form, the relative nutritional and anti-nutritional contents of each of these grains is different from that of the raw form of these grains, as shown. Potatoes also must be cooked, but should not be sprouted. Note that the highlighted values show the highest nutrient density among these 10 staples. Other foods, consumed in smaller quantities, may have nutrient densities different from these values.

Nutrient content of 10 major staple foods per 100 g portion,^[18] in order of rank

Nutrient	Maize (corn)[A]	Rice, white[B]	Wheat[C]	Potatoes[D]	Cassava[E]	Soybeans, green[F]	Sweet potatoes[G]	Yams[Y]	Sorghum[H]	Plantain[Z]	RDA
Water (g)	10	12	13	79	60	68	77	70	9	65	3,000
Energy (kJ)	1,528	1,528	1,369	322	670	615	360	494	1,419	511	8,368–10,460
Protein (g)	9.4	7.1	12.6	2.0	1.4	13.0	1.6	1.5	11.3	1.3	50
Fat (g)	4.74	0.66	1.54	0.09	0.28	6.8	0.05	0.17	3.3	0.37	44–77
Carbohydrates (g)	74	80	71	17	38	11	20	28	75	32	130
Fiber (g)	7.3	1.3	12.2	2.2	1.8	4.2	3	4.1	6.3	2.3	30
Sugar (g)	0.64	0.12	0.41	0.78	1.7	0	4.18	0.5	0	15	minimal
Minerals	[A]	[B]	[C]	[D]	[E]	[F]	[G]	[Y]	[H]	[Z]	RDA
Calcium (mg)	7	28	29	12	16	197	30	17	28	3	1,000
Iron (mg)	2.71	0.8	3.19	0.78	0.27	3.55	0.61	0.54	4.4	0.6	8
Magnesium (mg)	127	25	126	23	21	65	25	21	0	37	400
Phosphorus (mg)	210	115	288	57	27	194	47	55	287	34	700
Potassium (mg)	287	115	363	421	271	620	337	816	350	499	4,700
Sodium (mg)	35	5	2	6	14	15	55	9	6	4	1,500
Zinc (mg)	2.21	1.09	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	3.99	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
Vitamins	[A]	[B]	[C]	[D]	[E]	[F]	[G]	[Y]	[H]	[Z]	RDA
Vitamin C (mg)	0	0	0	19.7	20.6	29	2.4	17.1	0	18.4	90
Thiamin (B1) (mg)	0.39	0.07	0.30	0.08	0.09	0.44	0.08	0.11	0.24	0.05	1.2
Riboflavin (B2) (mg)	0.20	0.05	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	5.46	1.05	0.85	1.65	0.56	0.55	2.93	0.69	16
Pantothenic acid (B5) (mg)	0.42	1.01	0.95	0.30	0.11	0.15	0.80	0.31	-	0.26	5
Vitamin B6 (mg)	0.62	0.16	0.3	0.30	0.09	0.07	0.21	0.29	-	0.30	1.3
Folate Total (B9) (μg)	19	8	38	16	27	165	11	23	0	22	400
Vitamin A (IU)	214	0	9	2	13	180	14,187	138	0	1,127	5,000
Vitamin E, alpha-tocopherol (mg)	0.49	0.11	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	0	1.8	2.6	0	0.7	120
Beta-carotene (μg)	97	0	5	1	8	0	8,509	83	0	457	10,500
Lutein+zeaxanthin (μg)	1,355	0	220	8	0	0	0	0	0	30	6,000
Fats	[A]	[B]	[C]	[D]	[E]	[F]	[G]	[Y]	[H]	[Z]	RDA
Saturated fatty acids (g)	0.67	0.18	0.26	0.03	0.07	0.79	0.02	0.04	0.46	0.14	minimal
Monounsaturated fatty acids (g)	1.25	0.21	0.2	0.00	0.08	1.28	0.00	0.01	0.99	0.03	22–55
Polyunsaturated fatty acids (g)	2.16	0.18	0.63	0.04	0.05	3.20	0.01	0.08	1.37	0.07	13–19
	[A]	[B]	[C]	[D]	[E]	[F]	[G]	[Y]	[H]	[Z]	RDA

Images

• 
  

  

  
  

  
  

  White rice, boiled
  

  
  

  
  


• 
  

  

  
  

  
  

  Bread made from wheat flour (contains gluten)
  

  
  

  
  


• 
  

  

  
  

  
  

  Maize (corn)
  

  
  

  
  


• 
  

  

  
  

  
  

  Edamame (green soybeans)
  

  
  

  
  


• 
  

  

  
  

  
  

  Kidney beans
  

  
  

  
  


• 
  

  

  
  

  
  

  Sorghum seeds and popped sorghum
  

  
  

  
  


• 
  

  

  
  

  
  

  Amaranth (left) and common wheat berries
  

  
  

  
  


• 
  

  

  
  

  
  

  Millet grains
  

  
  

  
  


• 
  

  

  
  

  
  

  Colored quinoa
  

  
  

  
  


• 
  

  

  
  

  
  

  Cassava roots
  

  
  

  
  


• 
  

  

  
  

  
  

  Chinese yams
  

  
  

  
  


• 
  

  

  
  

  
  

  Sweet potato salad
  

  
  

  
  


• 
  

  

  
  

  
  

  Ulluco tubers
  

  
  

  
  


• 
  

  

  
  

  
  

  Oca tubers
  

  
  

  
  


• 
  

  

  
  

  
  

  Taro roots
  

  
  

  
  


• 
  

  

  
  

  
  

  Potatoes
  

  
  

  
  


• 
  

  

  
  

  
  

  Plantain and banana
  

  
  

  
  

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Staple food.

• Cash crop


• Famine food


• Vavilov centers

References