In everyday usage vegetables are certain parts of plants that are consumed by humans as food as part of a savory meal. Originally the traditional term (still commonly used in biology) included the flowers fruit stems leaves roots tubers bark seeds and all other plant matter although modern-day culinary usage of the term vegetable may exclude food derived from plants such as fruits nuts and cereal grains but include seeds such as pulses; the term vegetable is somewhat arbitrary and can be largely defined through culinary and cultural tradition.

Originally vegetables were collected from the wild by hunter-gatherers and entered cultivation in several parts of the world probably during the period 10000 BC to 7000 BC when a new agricultural way of life developed. At first plants which grew locally would have been cultivated but as time went on trade brought exotic crops from elsewhere to add to domestic types. Nowadays most vegetables are grown all over the world as climate permits and crops may be cultivated in protected environments in less suitable locations. China is the largest producer of vegetables and global trade in agricultural products allows consumers to purchase vegetables grown in faraway countries. The scale of production varies from subsistence farmers supplying the needs of their family for food to agribusinesses with vast acreages of single-product crops. Depending on the type of vegetable concerned harvesting the crop is followed by grading storing processing and marketing.

Vegetables can be eaten either raw or cooked and play an important role in human nutrition being mostly low in fat and carbohydrates but high in vitamins minerals and dietary fiber. Many nutritionists encourage people to consume plenty of fruit and vegetables five or more portions a day often being recommended.