9 STAPLES · 10 DIMENSIONS · 1 BILINGUAL ATLAS · 9 大主食 · 10 个维度

What feeds humanity. 喂养人类的，是这些。

Three crops — rice, wheat, corn — supply over half of all human calories. Six more (potatoes, cassava, oats, barley, sorghum, sweet potatoes) carry most of the rest. This atlas compares them across nutrition, yield, water footprint, carbon, geography, culture, and economics — strictly side-by-side in English + 中文, drawn from FAO, USDA, and Our World in Data.

三种作物——大米、小麦、玉米——供应了人类卡路里的一半以上。另外六种（土豆、木薯、燕麦、大麦、高粱、红薯）承担了其余的大部分。本图谱从营养、产量、水足迹、碳排、地理、文化、经济等多维度对比它们——严格英汉并置，数据源自 FAO、USDA 与 Our World in Data。

🍚

Rice

大米

Oryza sativa

🌾

Wheat

小麦

Triticum spp.

🌽

Corn

玉米

Zea mays

🥔

Potato

土豆

Solanum tuberosum

🍠

Cassava

木薯

Manihot esculenta

🥣

Oats

燕麦

Avena sativa

🌿

Barley

大麦

Hordeum vulgare

🌾

Sorghum

高粱

Sorghum bicolor

🍠

Sweet Potato

红薯

Ipomoea batatas

Compiled · April 2026 Sections · 10 Staples · 9 Sources · FAO · USDA · OWID

01 · OVERVIEW

The crops that built civilization 建造文明的作物

A "staple food" is one that supplies a major share of a population's daily calories — typically >15% of intake — for sustained periods. Almost every civilization has been built on a small number of them: three grains and four roots dominate the planet, joined by oats and barley in temperate-cool climates.

「主食」是指在长时间内为某地人口提供大部分日常卡路里——通常 >15%——的食物。几乎每一个文明都是靠少数几种主食建立的：三种谷物与四种根茎主导地球，温带与寒带还有燕麦与大麦加入。

Agriculture was independently invented at least seven times in human history — in the Fertile Crescent (~10,000 BCE: wheat, barley), China's Yangtze (~9,000 BCE: rice), Mesoamerica (~8,000 BCE: maize), the Andes (~8,000 BCE: potato), New Guinea (~7,000 BCE: sugarcane, banana), West Africa (~3,000 BCE: sorghum, yam), and Eastern North America (~3,000 BCE). The crops chosen at each origin still dominate that region today.

农业在人类史上至少被独立发明 7 次——肥沃新月（约公元前 10,000 年：小麦、大麦）、中国长江流域（约前 9,000 年：稻）、中美洲（约前 8,000 年：玉米）、安第斯山脉（约前 8,000 年：土豆）、新几内亚（约前 7,000 年：甘蔗、香蕉）、西非（约前 3,000 年：高粱、薯蓣）、北美东部（约前 3,000 年）。每个起源地选定的作物，至今仍主导该地区。

Surprising · 意外

Rice + wheat + corn alone deliver ~50% of all calories consumed by humans on Earth. Add potatoes and cassava and you cross 60%. Nine plants feed 8 billion people.

仅大米 + 小麦 + 玉米就供应全球人类 ~50% 的卡路里。加上土豆与木薯，超过 60%。九种植物喂养着 80 亿人。

02 · NUTRITION

Per 100 g, raw 每 100 克生品

All values per 100g of raw, unprocessed grain or tuber. Cooked weights differ substantially (rice triples in mass; potatoes change little). Glycemic Index (GI) is approximate for the most-common cooked form.

数据为每 100 克生的、未加工谷物或块茎。烹熟后重量差异显著（大米三倍；土豆几乎不变）。血糖指数（GI）为最常见烹熟形式的近似值。

Staple主食	Calories卡路里	Protein g蛋白质	Carbs g碳水	Fat g脂肪	Fiber g纤维	GI血糖指数
Rice (white)大米（白）	365	7.1	80	0.7	1.3	73
Wheat (whole)小麦（全粒）	340	13.2	72	2.5	10.7	54
Corn (whole)玉米（全粒）	365	9.4	74	4.7	7.3	52
Potato土豆	77	2.0	17	0.1	2.2	82
Cassava木薯	160	1.4	38	0.3	1.8	46
Oats燕麦	389	16.9	66	6.9	10.6	55
Barley大麦	354	12.5	73	2.3	17.3	28
Sorghum高粱	339	11.3	75	3.3	6.3	70
Sweet Potato红薯	86	1.6	20	0.1	3.0	70

Reads from the table · 可由表读出

Barley wins fiber and glycemic-index. Oats win protein and beta-glucan. White rice is the lowest-fiber, highest-GI choice — fine in diverse diets, dangerous as the only carbohydrate. Potato delivers the most calories per dollar of any food on Earth.

大麦在纤维和血糖指数上胜出。燕麦在蛋白与 β-葡聚糖上胜出。白米饭是纤维最低、GI 最高的——多样化饮食中无碍，作为唯一碳水则危险。土豆是地球上每一美元能买到最多卡路里的食物。

03 · YIELD & EFFICIENCY

Yield, water, fertilizer 产量 · 水 · 化肥

Yield is global average tonnes per hectare per year. Water is litres needed to produce 1 kg of food (rainfall + irrigation). Fertilizer is kg of nitrogen typically applied per hectare. These are global means — best-in-class operations beat them by 2-3×.

产量为全球年均每公顷吨数。水量为生产 1 千克食物所需升数（降水 + 灌溉）。化肥为典型每公顷施用氮肥千克数。皆为全球均值——一流耕作可达 2-3 倍。

Staple主食	Yield t/ha产量	Water L/kg水耗	Nitrogen kg/ha氮肥	EROI能源回报
Rice (paddy)水稻	4.7	2,500	120	4–6
Wheat小麦	3.5	1,800	90	3–5
Corn玉米	5.9	1,200	155	4–7
Potato土豆	21	290	110	7–10
Cassava木薯	11	560	25	10–15
Oats燕麦	2.5	2,400	60	3–4
Barley大麦	3.0	1,400	70	3–5
Sorghum高粱	1.4	2,800	35	5–8
Sweet Potato红薯	13	380	50	8–12

Reads from the table · 可由表读出

Tubers (potato, cassava, sweet potato) destroy grains on calories-per-hectare and calories-per-litre-of-water. Sorghum needs the least nitrogen — its drought tolerance is why it dominates semi-arid Africa. Rice is the least water-efficient by a wide margin, due to flooded paddy cultivation.

块茎（土豆、木薯、红薯）在「每公顷卡路里」与「每升水卡路里」上完胜谷物。高粱所需氮肥最少——其耐旱性正是它主宰半干旱非洲的原因。水稻因水田灌溉，水利用效率远不如其他主食。

04 · ENVIRONMENT

Carbon, land, water 碳 · 土地 · 水

Staple主食	CO₂e kg/kg碳排	Land m²/kg土地	Water L/kg水	Methane甲烷
Rice大米	4.0	2.8	2,500	High
Wheat小麦	1.4	3.9	1,800	None
Corn玉米	1.0	2.0	1,200	None
Potato土豆	0.46	0.9	290	None
Cassava木薯	0.40	1.8	560	None
Oats燕麦	0.9	5.2	2,400	None
Barley大麦	0.9	4.1	1,400	None
Sorghum高粱	0.4	7.2	2,800	None
Sweet Potato红薯	0.3	0.8	380	None

Rice carries the heaviest carbon footprint of any plant staple, almost entirely because flooded paddy fields are anaerobic environments where methane-producing bacteria thrive. Each kilogram of rice emits ~10× the methane of any other staple. Switching even part of paddy land to alternate-wetting-drying (AWD) cultivation could cut global agricultural methane by 5–10%.

水稻在所有植物主食中碳足迹最重，几乎完全因为水田为厌氧环境，使产甲烷菌繁殖。每千克稻米释放的甲烷约是其它主食的 10 倍。仅将部分稻田转为「干湿交替」（AWD）种植，就可削减全球农业甲烷排放 5-10%。

05 · CULTIVATION & GEOGRAPHY

Where they grow 它们生长的地方

Rice

Rice

大米

Tropical and subtropical Asia: China + India together produce ~50% of global supply. Needs 1,000+ mm rainfall. Two harvests/year possible in tropics.

热带与亚热带亚洲：中国+印度合计约占全球供应 50%。需 1,000+ mm 降水。热带可一年两收。

Wheat

Wheat

小麦

Temperate northern hemisphere — China, India, Russia, USA, EU. Needs cool growing season + dry harvest. Winter and spring varieties.

温带北半球——中国、印度、俄罗斯、美国、欧盟。需冬凉夏燥。分冬麦与春麦。

Corn

Corn

玉米

Originated in Mexico. Now globally distributed; USA produces ~30% of global supply, China ~25%. Needs warm summers, deep soil.

起源于墨西哥。今遍布全球；美国约占全球 30%，中国约 25%。需暖夏与深土。

Potato

Potato

土豆

Originated in the Andes (~7,000 BCE). Now ubiquitous — China is the world's largest producer. Adapts from sea level to 4,000m altitude.

起源于安第斯山（约前 7,000 年）。今遍布全球——中国为最大生产国。适应海平面至 4,000 米高度。

Cassava

Cassava

木薯

Tropical Americas + Africa. Nigeria is #1 producer. Drought-tolerant, grows in poor soils. Stems can store in ground for years.

热带美洲与非洲。尼日利亚为头号生产国。耐旱，可在贫瘠土壤生长。块茎可在土中储存数年。

Oats

Oats

燕麦

Cool-temperate climates. Russia, Canada, Australia, EU lead production. Resilient on poor soils where wheat fails.

凉温带气候。俄罗斯、加拿大、澳洲、欧盟产量领先。在小麦失败的贫瘠土壤上仍能成活。

Barley

Barley

大麦

Among the most cold-tolerant crops — grown from Tibet to Scotland. Russia, Australia, Germany, France lead. ~70% goes to feed + brewing.

最耐寒作物之一——西藏到苏格兰均有种植。俄、澳、德、法领先。约 70% 用于饲料与酿造。

Sorghum

Sorghum

高粱

Sub-Saharan Africa, India, USA. The most drought-tolerant cereal — survives 50°C and minimal rainfall. The hidden backbone of arid-zone food security.

撒哈拉以南非洲、印度、美国。最耐旱的谷物——可承受 50°C 与极少降水。干旱地区粮食安全的隐藏支柱。

Sweet Potato

Sweet Potato

红薯

China produces ~50% of global supply. Originated in Central / South America. Highly nutritious; vitamin A from orange varieties saves lives in sub-Saharan Africa.

中国占全球约 50%。起源于中南美洲。营养价值极高；橙色品种的维生素 A 拯救撒哈拉以南非洲的生命。

06 · CULTURE

The civilizations they built 它们造就的文明

Every staple comes with a civilization attached. Rice is China + South + Southeast Asia. Wheat is Europe + the Middle East. Corn is the Americas. Potato is the Andes (and later Ireland's collapse). Cassava is the Atlantic slave trade's surprise carry — exported from Brazil to West Africa, where it became indispensable. Sorghum is the African Sahel. The crop chose the culture as much as the culture chose the crop.

每一种主食都附带一个文明。大米是中国 + 南亚 + 东南亚。小麦是欧洲 + 中东。玉米是美洲。土豆是安第斯（以及后来爱尔兰的崩溃）。木薯是大西洋奴隶贸易意外的传播——从巴西输出至西非，成为不可或缺。高粱是非洲萨赫勒。作物选择了文化，正如文化选择了作物。

Identity-defining dishes: rice → sushi, biryani, paella, dim sum, congee. Wheat → bread, pasta, dumplings (jiaozi), naan, croissant. Corn → tortilla, polenta, popcorn, masa, pozole. Potato → fries, gnocchi, latkes, vodka. Cassava → fufu, garri, tapioca, farinha. The map of human cuisine is, more than anything else, a map of these nine plants.

身份定义性的菜肴：大米 → 寿司、印度香饭、西班牙海鲜饭、点心、粥。小麦 → 面包、意面、饺子、馕、可颂。玉米 → 玉米饼、玉米糊、爆米花、马萨、玉米炖肉。土豆 → 薯条、马铃薯团子、薯饼、伏特加。木薯 → 富富、加里、木薯粉、巴西粉。人类饮食地图，归根到底，是这九种植物的地图。

07 · ECONOMICS

Production, trade, and food security 生产 · 贸易 · 粮食安全

Staple主食	Global Mt/yr年产	% Traded国际贸易占比	Top Producer头号生产国	% of Global占全球
Rice大米	~530	~9%	China · 中国	28%
Wheat小麦	~800	~25%	China · 中国	17%
Corn玉米	~1,200	~13%	USA · 美国	32%
Potato土豆	~380	~3%	China · 中国	22%
Cassava木薯	~290	~1%	Nigeria · 尼日利亚	21%
Oats燕麦	~22	~12%	Russia · 俄罗斯	21%
Barley大麦	~145	~22%	Russia · 俄罗斯	16%
Sorghum高粱	~60	~11%	USA · 美国	15%
Sweet Potato红薯	~90	~1%	China · 中国	50%

Tubers (potato, cassava, sweet potato) are barely traded internationally — they're heavy, bulky, and perishable. They function as local food security insurance, not as global commodities. Wheat and corn are the most-traded by % — meaning global food-price shocks hit wheat- and corn-importing countries hardest. (Egypt imports 60% of its wheat. The 2022 Ukraine grain crisis hit Cairo before it hit Kyiv.)

块茎（土豆、木薯、红薯）几乎不进入国际贸易——重、大、易腐。它们作为本地粮食安全保险而非全球商品存在。小麦与玉米按占比是贸易最频的——意味着全球粮价冲击最先打击进口国。（埃及小麦进口率 60%。2022 年乌克兰粮食危机打击开罗早于打击基辅。）

Country Diet Profiles 国家饮食结构

Approximate share of dietary calories from each staple, by country. Sources: FAOSTAT food balance sheets, 2023.

各国从每种主食获取的卡路里近似占比。数据：FAOSTAT 食品平衡表（2023）。

🇨🇳

China

中国

26%

Rice 大米

19%

Wheat 小麦

Sweet Potato 红薯

🇮🇳

India

印度

29%

Rice 大米

19%

Wheat 小麦

Sorghum 高粱

🇺🇸

USA

美国

23%

Wheat 小麦

Corn 玉米

Potato 土豆

🇲🇽

Mexico

墨西哥

38%

Corn 玉米

15%

Wheat 小麦

Rice 大米

🇳🇬

Nigeria

尼日利亚

25%

Cassava 木薯

14%

Sorghum 高粱

12%

Corn 玉米

🇪🇹

Ethiopia

埃塞俄比亚

22%

Sorghum 高粱

17%

Wheat 小麦

15%

Corn 玉米

🇵🇪

Peru

秘鲁

14%

Potato 土豆

12%

Rice 大米

10%

Wheat 小麦

🇷🇺

Russia

俄罗斯

29%

Wheat 小麦

Potato 土豆

Barley 大麦

08 · PROCESSING

From field to fork 从田间到餐桌

Roughly half of all corn produced in the USA goes to ethanol fuel; another quarter to livestock feed. Only ~10% goes to direct human food. Wheat is mostly milled to flour. Rice is mostly polished, removing the bran (and most of the fiber and B vitamins) for shelf life. Cassava must be soaked + pressed to remove cyanide before being safe to eat.

美国生产的玉米中约一半用于乙醇燃料；约四分之一用作牲畜饲料。仅约 10% 直接供人食用。小麦大多被磨成面粉。大米多被精米加工，去除糠层（与大部分纤维和 B 族维生素）以延长保质期。木薯须先经浸泡与压榨以去除氰化物，方可食用。

The "industrial uses" line is enormous and underappreciated. Corn becomes ethanol, high-fructose corn syrup, plastic substitutes, animal feed, and even pharmaceutical scaffolding. Wheat starch goes into adhesives. Rice husks go into silica, building boards, and biochar. Almost no part of any modern staple is wasted at industrial scale.

「工业用途」一项巨大且常被低估。玉米变成乙醇、高果糖玉米糖浆、塑料替代品、动物饲料，甚至药用骨架材料。小麦淀粉用于粘合剂。稻壳变成硅、建材板、生物炭。在工业规模上，现代主食几乎没有任何部分被浪费。

09 · HEALTH

What a staple-based diet does to a body 以主食为基础的饮食对身体的影响

Rice-based diets correlate with lower obesity but higher Type-2 diabetes risk in populations consuming heavily polished white rice (China, India, Japan). Wheat-based diets cluster with cardiovascular outcomes that depend almost entirely on what comes with the wheat — Mediterranean (olive oil, fish, vegetables) is healthy; Western (white bread + processed meat) is not. Corn-based diets historically caused pellagra (niacin deficiency) until nixtamalization — soaking maize in lime — was introduced.

以米饭为基础的饮食在大量食用精米的人群中（中国、印度、日本）与较低肥胖率但较高的 2 型糖尿病风险相关。以小麦为基础的饮食的心血管后果几乎完全取决于「与小麦同食」之物——地中海饮食（橄榄油、鱼、蔬菜）健康；西式（白面包 + 加工肉）不健康。以玉米为主的饮食在引入「碱液处理」（用石灰浸泡玉米）之前曾引发糙皮病（烟酸缺乏）。

The healthier general rule: diversify your staples. Cultures that historically ate only one staple were prone to deficiency disease (pellagra in corn-only diets, beriberi in white-rice-only diets). The healthiest modern diets — Mediterranean, Okinawan, Nordic — all include 3+ staples in regular rotation alongside vegetables, fish, and fermented foods.

较健康的一般规则：主食多样化。历史上只吃一种主食的文化易患缺乏病（仅食玉米致糙皮病、仅食精米致脚气病）。最健康的现代饮食模式——地中海、冲绳、北欧——皆在蔬菜、鱼类、发酵食品之外，定期轮换三种以上主食。

10 · FUTURE

What changes in the next 50 years 未来 50 年中变化的将是什么

Climate

Heat-stress on rice + wheat

水稻与小麦面临热应力

Each 1°C of warming reduces global wheat yields by ~6% and rice yields by ~3.2% (IPCC 6th Assessment). The northern margins (Russia, Canada) gain; the equatorial belt loses.

每升温 1°C，全球小麦产量减约 6%，水稻减约 3.2%（IPCC 第六次评估）。北方边缘（俄、加）获益；赤道带损失。

Drought-resilient

Sorghum + cassava rising

高粱与木薯崛起

As irrigation becomes expensive, the "African crops" — sorghum, millet, cassava — become globally important. Expect them to expand into the Mediterranean, Australia, and the American Southwest.

随着灌溉成本上升，「非洲作物」——高粱、小米、木薯——将变得全球重要。预计它们将扩展至地中海、澳洲与美国西南部。

GMO

CRISPR staples

CRISPR 主食

Golden Rice (vitamin A enhanced) approved in the Philippines 2021. CRISPR wheat and corn already in field trials. Drought-tolerant maize approved in Kenya 2023. The technology is mature; deployment is political.

黄金大米（强化维生素 A）于 2021 年在菲律宾批准。CRISPR 小麦与玉米已进入田间试验。耐旱玉米于 2023 年在肯尼亚批准。技术已成熟；部署是政治问题。

Lab

Lab-grown alternatives

实验室培育替代品

Precision-fermented proteins (Perfect Day, Solar Foods) target dairy + animal protein, not staple carbohydrate — for now. Energy-dense carbohydrates remain genuinely cheap to grow. Lab staples are not coming soon.

精准发酵蛋白（Perfect Day、Solar Foods）瞄准乳制品与动物蛋白，目前不针对主食碳水。能量密集的碳水化合物仍然真正廉价可种。实验室主食不会近期到来。

Sustainable

Regenerative agriculture

再生农业

Cover cropping, no-till, agroforestry. Currently ~5% of global cropland; could exceed 30% by 2050 if subsidies shift. The biggest open question is whether yields hold during transition years.

覆盖作物、免耕、农林复合。目前约占全球耕地 5%；若补贴转向，2050 年可能超 30%。最大悬念是过渡期产量能否保持。

Population

Demand peaks ~2080

需求约 2080 年见顶

Global population is now projected to peak ~2080 at ~10.4 billion (UN 2024). After that, total caloric demand stops growing. The challenge shifts from production to distribution — and from quantity to quality.

全球人口预计约 2080 年在 ~104 亿见顶（联合国 2024）。此后总卡路里需求停止增长。挑战从生产转向分配——从数量转向质量。

★ · INTERACTIVE RANKER

Best staple, depending on what you optimize for 视优化目标而定 · 最佳主食

Honest Caveat · 诚实警示

Ranking foods on a single axis is reductive. The healthiest diet is diverse, the lowest-carbon farm uses regenerative methods, and "best" depends on your bioregion. Use this ranker as a conversation starter, not a prescription.

以单一维度对食物排名是简化的。最健康的饮食是多样化的，最低碳的农场采用再生方法，「最佳」取决于你所在的生物区域。把此排名作为对话起点，而非处方。