Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
aggregate level. The main food production surge occurred during the 1950s and
1960s as new high-yielding crop varieties were adopted. Productivity growth allowed
for the release of resources, labor in particular, to the rest of the economy and was
responsible for a decline in the prices of major agricultural commodities. These fac-
tors led to a growth in urbanization, which resulted in an increase in availability of
inexpensive labor, which in turn became the cornerstone of industrial development.
The acceleration of industrial growth led to higher rates of urban migration and the
decline in agriculture's share of the global economy. Industrial-led economic growth
fueled food demand and improvement in diets.
The combination of income growth and declining real food prices not only
resulted in increased food availability but also changed the composition of diets.
Globally, daily per capita calorie availability increased by 17% between 1970 and
2005—from 2432 to 2852. In 1970, cereals accounted for more than half of calories
consumed (Figure 22.1). Sugar was the next largest commodity group with a 9%
share. Vegetable oils held a near 6% share of the diet. Meat accounted for 5.4% of the
total. While cereals and sugar continued to account for nearly 60% of the global diet,
there were some notable changes in composition that took place between 1970 and
2005. The most significant change was for vegetables, whose share nearly doubled
but remains quite small at under 3%. The growth was supported by the expansion
and improvement of the global transportation system, which facilitated trade in
perishable products. The second highest growth was for meat, 80%, whose share
exceeded 8% in 2005. The vegetable oil share of the global diet increased by 67%,
reaching nearly 11% by 2005. In contrast to these increases, consumption of animal
100%
75%
50%
25%
0%
1970
2005
Cereals
ugar and sweeteners
Ve getable oils
Meat
Milk
Other
fIguRe 22.1
A color version of this figure follows page 198.
Global diet composition.
