Did you know that rye was once our most important food, that the lack of bread triggered the French Revolution, that there would have been no industrialization without potatoes, and that corn caused the impoverishment of entire regions in Italy? The diseases affecting our crops have also made history. Since the early Middle Ages, a fungus that produces hallucinogens has threatened the rye harvest. Wheat, potatoes, rapeseed, and others are part of our culture. This includes the history of their products: white bread, beer, whisky, muesli, sugar, cooking oil, cornflakes, fries, and chips. Cultivated plants continue to change our world. We now also produce bioenergy from corn and rapeseed and process potatoes into plastics. This book presents our nine most important crops: wheat, rye, barley, oats, triticale, corn, rapeseed, sugar beets, and potatoes.