u/KickFacemouth

Cabbage, lettuce, etc.

For most of human history (and still in many places today) it was a challenge to provide enough food to keep people alive and give them enough energy to work to contribute to society. That being said, why did we ever grow crops with little or no caloric value? Given all of the time and effort it takes to do so, it's a net negative expenditure of energy and a terrible return on investment. I know those foods sometimes have other nutritional benefits, but those are low on the list of priorities when you're just trying to give the most amount of fuel to the most amount of people.