A Succinct History Of Farming

One of the most important things that holds the global economy together is farming. While often overlooked by most people, the global economy would quickly collapse if free trade of farming products ceased. Many, if not most, countries today enjoy food and products that could simply not be produced within that country. Farming has a long and interesting history, and in this article you'll learn some of the highlights, so you can better appreciate how good we've got it today.

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 they discovered that if they planted seeds, the seeds would grow into something that they could eat. This was both a benefit, but also a problem. It was a benefit in that they could predict how much food would be available, and when it would be available. It was a problem in that whoever planted the seeds had to worry about other people stealing them. This was the basis for society and government, to create the laws and system by which cities to grow and prosper based on farming.

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.

The breakthrough came with the advent of the gasoline engine. When farms started using mechanical equipment to plough their fields and harvest their crops, their capacity literally doubled overnight. This, of course, dropped the price of food considerably, which made it much more affordable. Soon it was possible to buy and consume food that was too expensive to eat only a short while ago.

Of course, the breakthroughs and advances haven't slowed down. Today the latest technology is in the form of genetic engineering. This is important for two reasons. First it can increase even further the amount of crops that farmers can produce with the same amount of land. Second, it can dramatically improve the nutritional content of the food we eat, making it much healthier. There doesn't seem to be any end to how farming can help and support society.

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