Over the 10,000 years since agriculture began to be developed, peoples everywhere have discovered the food value of wild plants and animals, and domesticated and bred them. The most important crops are cereals such as wheat, rice, barley, corn, and rye; sugarcane and sugar beets; meat animals such as sheep, cattle, goats, and pigs or swine; poultry such as chickens, ducks, and turkeys; animal products such as milk, cheese, and eggs; and nuts and oils. Fruits, …showed first 75 words of 703 total…

…showed last 75 words of 703 total…this genetic waste will cease. Accurate statistics on world crop production are difficult to assemble. Much crop food is consumed privately or sold in local markets for which statistics are not gathered, and many countries do not perform regular crop surveys. Several organizations, however, have developed good systems for gathering data and estimating national and world food production, and geostationary satellites that monitor croplands by means of sensors have enormously improved annual forecasts and surveys.