Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
tremendously from region to region, and thus humans migrated to hospitable envi-
ronmental and geographical locales to find food (Hladik 1988; Williams 1975). The
ability for humans to migrate from climate to climate, while choosing a wider vari-
ety of new plant and animal foods, helped them to overcome natural obstacles and
adapt to a continually changing environment (Williams 1975).
The Neolithic revolution (see Chapter 1) occurred largely as a result of overpopu-
lation and excessive strain on natural resources (Hillman et al. 1989). It enabled
humans to settle down and grow select foods around their settlements instead of
being nomads. They were able to obtain a more reliable supply of foods, although the
supply was also less diverse. This decrease in food variety, coupled with the grow-
ing population, was partly responsible for an increase in biological stress, includ-
ing malnutrition and infectious diseases, which were extremely common during this
transition (Angel 1984, Smith et al. 1984, Cohen 1989).
stAPle foods of the woRld
Table 4.2 presents some of the common staple foods that are popular dietary choices
in various parts of the world. Grains were domesticated and incorporated into human
diets very early. Wheat, rye, barley, spelt, corn, and rice produced a readily available
source of carbohydrates (Ulijaszek et al. 1991). Potatoes, taro, and cassava became
commonly cultivated tubers (Lieberman 2003). For animals to be suitable for human
consumption, they could not compete significantly with humans for food; they needed
to provide a relatively quick and nutritious source of nutrients, and they needed to
suit the environment in which they were domesticated (Harris and Ross 1987).
modeRn chAllenges InfluencIng food choIces
Today, humans are still faced with environmental constraints that influence food
choices. For example, during the early part of the twentieth century in the high plains
of the United States—and the steppes of Kazhakstan in the former Soviet Union in
the 1950s and 1960s—the prairie was plowed and planted with grains, and little
attention was paid to conservation or sustainability. This ultimately contributed to
the Dust Bowl of the 1930s and led to an exodus of humans to areas of the United
States with more readily available food supplies (Egan 2006). Although more atten-
tion is paid to conservation today than in the past, some argue that certain agricul-
tural methods—deforestation and production of staple grains and livestock—and
their heavy reliance on the combustion of fossil fuels and the use of other natural
resources are contributing to environmental and climatic changes that may affect
food choices in the future (U.S. Department of Agriculture 2004).
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Food choices must fulfill nutrient needs. Without the essential nutrients, neither human
beings nor societies can survive. Human biology, homeostatic mechanisms, and the
interdependence of plants, animals, and humans are covered in Chapter 1. Nutrients
and their requirements and metabolism are covered in Chapters 5 through 8.
