Archaeology shows there’s more to millet than birdseed

Archaeological research shows that our prehistoric ancestors built resilience into their food supply. Now archaeologists say 'forgotten' millet - a cereal familiar today as birdseed - has a role to play in modern crop diversity and in helping to feed the world's population. A huge amount of research linked to food security has focused on the really major crops. Millets have taught me that it's worth shifting the focus. We may have a lot still to learn from our Neolithic predecessors. Martin Jones Over half of the food consumed by the human race in terms of calories comes from just three species of grain - wheat, rice and maize - yet in biological terms all are highly unnatural. They've been bred, generation after generation, to have grains that are super-sized in relation to their stems.