The Journey of Wheat

In our first unit of our new humanities class Food For Thought we learned about the ingredients of food and the journey it takes to get to us. Throughout this unit we focused on the energy, the work, the history of food, how food has shaped our society, and how we've changed food throughout it's journey. I learned that this very important ingredient impacted myself, my family, and my ancestors. For my action project I worked on researching about wheat and where it originates from. I hope you enjoy.While working on this unit I discovered that corn is in almost everything.

I started out as a vegetable that was sometimes picked and eaten by hunters and gatherers. Soon these hunters and gatherers realized my potential to help them thrive along with me. I am wheat. I first started to get farmed in 8000 B.C.E in Ancient Mesopotamia , back then I grew in smaller stalks than I do now. I don’t remember exactly where I had started to be grown but I’m sure it was around the Karacadag mountain range in what is now modern day Turkey. Starting in Mesopotamia in the Fertile crescent which is now countries like Iraq, Iran, Syria, Turkey, and Jordan I started as both emmer and einkorn which were both younger versions of me that I later decided to change/ evolve into what is now called wheat.

About 1500 years later in 6500 B.C.E I started to spread to more countries and regions close to ancient Mesopotamia like India, Cyprus, and Greece. This started because Mesopotamia was expanding and innovation was occurring with development of stamp seals and cylinder seals. These seals were created to put drawings, and forms of written communication on. Because of this large expansion to Cypress, India, and Greece I traveled and kept more civilizations alive for longer.

Between 6500 B.C.E and 6000 B.C.E I managed to also travel to Egypt where one of the biggest discoveries was made that had me in the spotlight. In Egypt in 6000 B.C.E I was used to make baked bread. Bread is one of the world’s biggest food milestones because of how much more foods it is mixed with, how many food were made from it, and how relevant it still is.

About 3000 years later in 3000 B.C.E I traveled to the British Isles and Scandinavia. This was still the result of local expansion from Greece. The British Isles were very enjoyable to be planted there because they used me in both the making of foods but I was also able to help build and sustain houses on the shingles of their roofs. 

In 2000 B.C.E I was still being grown and being produced more all across India, which allowed a lot of travelers to spread their civilizations along with me over large pieces of land. I was able to travel in 2000 B.C.E to China where I was also grown to help later civilizations like the Huang Ho.

From China I traveled to places all over the world; going to newly developed countries and continents that have been around for a long time in places like the Americas, Africa, and the rest of Europe.

Now in the 20th century I am used in all kinds of dishes that include the main ingredient flour in foods like, pies, crackers, and still bread. I am also being used a very important ingredient for a family in Chicago IL, they make beignets. A family member quoted saying “ Beignets help bring our family together in a way of joy and strength because it helps us all understand who we are.”I’m very glad I could be part of something so important to a family’s life, and I couldn’t have gotten there without the journey.