According to projections by the United Nations, the world population has reached 7 billion and continues to grow rapidly. While more people are living longer and healthier lives, gaps are widening between the rich and the poor in some nations and tens of millions of people are vulnerable to food and water shortages. There is, of course, the issue of the impact of that sheer number on the environment, including pollution, waste disposal, use of natural resources and food production. This post focuses on wheat and the effect of our numbers on the environment. Wheat is the most important cereal in the world and along with rice and corn accounts for about 73 percent of all cereal production. It isn’t surprising that 7 billion people have a lasting impact on our world’s natural resources and the environment in which we live. — Paula Nelson (36 photos total)

One of the world’s breadbaskets lies in the prairies of Canada. This stalk, near Lethbridge, Alberta, helps form the foundation for the most important food product in the world : cereal grains. (Todd Korol/Reuters)

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