Food Revolutions Essay

Submitted By moriimotom
Words: 608
Pages: 3

What did you have to eat today? Have you ever stopped to think about all the work and history that made up your lunch? Before, food was not nearly as easy to come by. It took many years of hard work, new technology, and innovation to revolutionize the way we make and find our food. Thanks to the Neolithic, English Agricultural, and Green Revolutions, we have the means of food production that we have today to nourish us and provide sustenance to all. The Neolithic (Farming) Revolution was when early humans (Paleoliths) discovered how to tame animals and farm edible food. Up until then, the Paleolithic people were nomads, following wild sources of food and hunting/gathering for them (Source 1: ‘From Food Gathering to Food Producing’). It was a pretty unpredictable life, and it meant they could never settle down in one place (Source 2: ‘Join the Neolithic Revolution!’). But now, they could plant food! They could keep animals with them (Source 3a&b: ‘Mesopotamia: Everyday Life’). Once they utilized plants and animals in a controlled way to produce food, man moved from Paleolithic (early stone age) to the Neolithic (later stone age) era. Because of this, it allowed cities to form and advance. Populations could also grow, and people could have an easier life. The next major food production revolution was one which occurred in Europe (around the 1500’s), which was called the Agricultural Revolution. During this time, the British Government was in the hands of rich landowners. These landowners wanted to make the most of their crops, and so started to experiment with fertilizers, new crops, and more efficient methods of farming (Source 4: ‘Agricultural Revolution in Britain’). Also, this revolution consisted of the enclosure of farmlands. This proved to be quite good, as it wasted less land and contained diseases (Source 5: ‘Selected Impacts of the Enclosure Acts’). Lastly, all of this increased farming productivity called for increases of mechanization for agriculture. Tractors, mechanical plows and harvesters were growing increasingly popular (Source 6: ‘Industrialization’). All of this new technology and food production led to a big boost of the economy, which eventually led to the Industrial Revolution! Food was more plentiful, and business was booming. The Agricultural revolution was a huge boost to the economy of the time. This made everyone at the time extremely happy, and