It's no understatement to say that farming is likely one of the most important things that holds modern society together. Countries are wholly dependent on imports and exports based on farming. Without free trade of farming goods, the global economy would collapse. Many things you use in daily life come from farming, from the cotton in your clothes today to the fuel in your car tomorrow. In this article you'll learn the basic history of farming, so you can better appreciate how far we've come.
Of course, back in the day, before the invention of agriculture, early humans had no clue. They just knew that sometime they'd come across some plants they could eat, or some plants that they hunted liked to eat, making it easier to hunt them. They would generally consume all there was, and then move on in search for the next bounty. At this stage of the game, humans lived in groups of around a couple hundred people, and were always on the move.
Then a major breakthrough occurred. People discovered that if they took these small seeds which were inside the things they were eating, they could grow more of them. In fact, they could grow many different plants and support their whole tribe. Consistent food from the same place meant that they didn't have to chase after their food any more. But this also meant that their crops were in danger of being stolen. This need for security gave rise to the first cities, governments, and laws.
When farms starting growing larger and larger, it became more difficult for them to be tended by people alone. Soon animals were brought in to help. This allowed them to create much more, but it had some drawbacks of it's own. Namely, as farms got bigger, so did the grazing land required to feed the animals. Pretty soon farmers needed just as much land to feed their animals as they did to grow their food.
This wasn't a problem until people started running out of land to farm on. Luckily, this was about the time that the gasoline engine was invented. This allowed farmers to use machines to do all the heavy lifting. This virtually doubled their output overnight, which dropped prices significantly. This meant that people all over the world could suddenly afford to eat things that were previously too expensive.
Today, the latest advances such as genetic engineering promise to increase productivity even further. Genetic engineering can not only increase the farmers' efficiency, but it can also vastly increase the nutritional quality of the food produced. It seems that there is no limit to the advances of farming.
Of course, back in the day, before the invention of agriculture, early humans had no clue. They just knew that sometime they'd come across some plants they could eat, or some plants that they hunted liked to eat, making it easier to hunt them. They would generally consume all there was, and then move on in search for the next bounty. At this stage of the game, humans lived in groups of around a couple hundred people, and were always on the move.
Then a major breakthrough occurred. People discovered that if they took these small seeds which were inside the things they were eating, they could grow more of them. In fact, they could grow many different plants and support their whole tribe. Consistent food from the same place meant that they didn't have to chase after their food any more. But this also meant that their crops were in danger of being stolen. This need for security gave rise to the first cities, governments, and laws.
When farms starting growing larger and larger, it became more difficult for them to be tended by people alone. Soon animals were brought in to help. This allowed them to create much more, but it had some drawbacks of it's own. Namely, as farms got bigger, so did the grazing land required to feed the animals. Pretty soon farmers needed just as much land to feed their animals as they did to grow their food.
This wasn't a problem until people started running out of land to farm on. Luckily, this was about the time that the gasoline engine was invented. This allowed farmers to use machines to do all the heavy lifting. This virtually doubled their output overnight, which dropped prices significantly. This meant that people all over the world could suddenly afford to eat things that were previously too expensive.
Today, the latest advances such as genetic engineering promise to increase productivity even further. Genetic engineering can not only increase the farmers' efficiency, but it can also vastly increase the nutritional quality of the food produced. It seems that there is no limit to the advances of farming.
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