Cereals – Health or Disease

As a result of appropriate interference in the agro-ecosystems, a man can control their productivity and increase the amount of produced biomass, which can be utilized as food for humans, feed for animals, and raw material for many industries, including fuels. Such agriculture combines the laws of nature and human activity into a single coherent system. FAO has drawn attention to the idea of food security for a long time, because sufficient amount of healthy food is a prerequisite for life. The issue of genetically modified cereals not only to increase the yields, but also to stimulate the consumer’s appetite, is still little discussed. Pervasive promotion of cereals praised as a healthy food set the trends and fashions in diet and surrendered them the agricultural markets and production fields. Growing the alternative crops, among others the amaranth, shows agriculture as an economic activity that combines natural laws with human interference into a single coherent system operating in accordance with the principles of sustainable development. In this way, resources of arable lands are exploited in a sustainable manner. Moreover, amaranth grains due to the high nutritional value, especially in view of special characteristics of protein, fat, and starch, are becoming more and more popular among producers, consumers, and the industry. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of the forgotten plant species – amaranth (Amaranthus cruentus L.) to measure the impact of its raw materials and products on human health and in the context of wheat and its processed products dominance on agricultural markets.