Wheat, the Grain That Shaped Us

An exploration of how wheat shaped civilization and why gluten remains a modern health debate.

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Wheat is so ordinary that we forget its power. Yet this pale grain helped build cities, taxes, and empires. Archaeologists trace early wheat to the Fertile Crescent, where farmers saved seed from wild grasses. Over time, careful selection made plants hold their kernels and ripen together. That small change turned gathering into agriculture, and agriculture into settlement.