Wheat:
a seed at the service of capitalism
The history of wheat dates back more than 10,000 years, when it was first domesticated in the Fertile Crescent—an area that includes present-day Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Iraq. Since then, this seed has spread rapidly across Asia and the Mediterranean, giving rise to more than 35,000 varieties and becoming one of the most widely consumed cereals today.
However, this expansion was not always organic. Economic interests and imperialist exploitation led to the imposition of wheat in regions such as China, India, Australia, and the United States, where it displaced native cereal varieties. More recently, in the 1960s, some countries faced the urgent challenge of feeding a rapidly growing population. As a solution, scientists selected and genetically modified a handful of wheat varieties to increase yields and maximize profits—a phenomenon known as the Green Revolution.
