Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
numbers under control. Moreover, the shifts in nutrition reinforce the notion that focus
on a limited number of foods places populations at risk. Attention has to be given to
providing foods that are diverse, providing essential nutrients that are missing in a
narrow-range diet deficient in micronutrients. Finally, the Holocene dietary changes
also set the stage for technology that has resulted in recent years with a strong focus on
high-fat, high-carbohydrate diets. This event, combined with technology that frees us
of labor (e.g., the automobile), has engendered a worldwide obesity epidemic affecting
every nation on the globe. Simply, we are seeing the rapid increase in fatter children
and fatter adults around the world, both in developed and developing nations (Popkin
2004). This, too, is a risk for our future, resulting in an increase in diseases, such
as coronary heart disease, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, and disability and creating a
health crisis that is sure not to go away unless we can create a new culture of improved
nutrition and diet. There are signs of improvement and solutions to difficult issues, such
as public education about diet, but we are a long way from a solution. A solution will
need to be developed, taking us beyond the heritage of the agricultural revolution.
conclusIons And study toPIcs
The key point of this chapter was to outline and discuss the impact of the transition
from hunting and gathering to agriculture, a process that began around 10 to 12 thou-
sand years ago. Eventually, the process resulted in most human populations being
dependent on domesticated plants (and animals). The key findings by anthropolo-
gists about the impact on human biology are the following:
1. Rapid and remarkable increase in population size, resulting in crowded and
increasingly deteriorating living conditions
2. Less varied diet and hence poorer nutrition
3. Increase in infection and infectious disease
4. Increase in iron deficiency anemia
5. Increase in dental decay (caries)
6. Poorer growth and development in childhood and reduced adult height
7. Reduction in bone size and robusticity, reflecting general decreased activ-
ity and workload;
8. Decrease in osteoarthritis (although this is highly variable and age
dependent)
9. Reduced face and tooth size, increase in dental crowding, and alteration in
shape of skull, reflecting decrease in chewing demand as humans shifted to
eating softer foods
10. Patterns of activity and dietary intake that set the stage for the problems
facing human beings in the twenty-first century (e.g., obesity, coronary
heart disease, osteoporosis, and disability general at all ages)
Acknowledgments
I thank Wilson Pond for inviting me to contribute to this topic. The discussion in
this chapter is based on a life-long interest in the history of the human condition,
