<P> The oat (Avena sativa), sometimes called the common oat, is a species of cereal grain grown for its seed, which is known by the same name (usually in the plural, unlike other cereals and pseudocereals). While oats are suitable for human consumption as oatmeal and rolled oats, one of the most common uses is as livestock feed . Oats are a nutrient - rich food associated with lower blood cholesterol when consumed regularly . </P> <P> Avenins present in oats (proteins similar to gliadin from wheat) can trigger celiac disease in a small proportion of people . Also, oat products are frequently contaminated by other gluten - containing grains, mainly wheat and barley . </P> <P> The wild ancestor of Avena sativa and the closely related minor crop, A. byzantina, is the hexaploid wild oat A. sterilis . Genetic evidence shows the ancestral forms of A. sterilis grew in the Fertile Crescent of the Near East . Domesticated oats appear relatively late, and far from the Near East, in Bronze Age Europe . Oats, like rye, are usually considered a secondary crop, i.e., derived from a weed of the primary cereal domesticates wheat and barley . As these cereals spread westwards into cooler, wetter areas, this may have favored the oat weed component, and have led to its domestication . </P> <Table> <Tr> <Th_colspan="2"> Oats production - 2014 Millions of tonnes </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Russia </Td> <Td> 5.3 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Canada </Td> <Td> 2.9 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Poland </Td> <Td> 1.5 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Australia </Td> <Td> 1.3 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Finland </Td> <Td> 1.0 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> United States </Td> <Td> 1.0 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> World </Td> <Td> 22.7 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="2"> United Nations, Food and Agriculture Organization, Statistics Division </Td> </Tr> </Table>

Where are oats grown in the united states