Grases account for 70% of all crops grown. Cereals or grains are the agricultural names for grasses that are grown for their edible seeds; however, the latter term is used in agriculture to refer to both cereals and similar seeds of other plant species, such as buckwheat and legumes. Rice, wheat, and maize (corn), also known as cereal, account for more than half of all calories consumed by humans.

For humans, cereals are the primary source of carbohydrates and possibly the primary source of protein; These include wheat and barley in Europe, northern Asia, and the Americas, maize in Central and South America, rice in southern and eastern Asia, and maize in Central and South America.

The majority of the sugar produced comes from sugarcane. Sugarcane is also used to make sprouted grain, shoots, and rhizomes for food. Sugarcane juice and plant milk are also used to make drinks like rum, beer, whisky, and vodka.

There are many Asian dishes and broths that call for bamboo shoots, which can be found in supermarkets sliced, fermented, or canned.

Because of its citrus-like flavor and scent, lemongrass is a grass that is used as a culinary herb.

In particular for cattle, horses, and sheep, numerous species of grass are grown as pasture for foraging or as feed for prescribed livestock feeds. These grasses can be cut up and stored as silage in silos or bales of hay or straw for later feeding, especially during the winter. Animals can also use straw (and occasionally hay) as bedding.

Thinopyrum intermedium is a perennial grass that makes sod and is used in agriculture.