Agricultural Revolution

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Agricultural revolution

The development of agriculture has been a fundamental part of the march of civilization. It is an ongoing challenge, for as long as population growth continues, mankind will need to improve agricultural production.

The agricultural revolution is actually a series of four major advances, closely linked with other key historical periods. The first, the Neolithic or New Stone Age, marks the beginning of sedentary (settled) farming. Much of this history is lost in antiquity, dating back perhaps 10,000 years or more. Still, humans owe an enormous debt to those early pioneers who so painstakingly nourished the best of each year's crop. Archaeologists have found corn cobs a mere 2 in (5.1 cm) long, so different from today's giant ears.

The second major advance came as a result of Christopher Columbus' voyages to the New World. Isolation had fostered the development of two completely independent agricultural systems in the New and Old Worlds. A short list of interchanged crops and animals clearly illustrates the global magnitude of this event; furthermore, the current population explosion began its upswing during this period. From the New World came maize, beans, the "Irish" potato, squash, peanuts, tomatoes, and tobacco . From the Old World came wheat, rice, coffee, cattle, horses, sheep, and goats. Maize is now a staple food in Africa. Several Indian tribes in America adopted new lifestyles, notably the Navajo as sheepherders, and the Cheyenne as nomads using the horse to hunt buffalo.

The Industrial Revolution both contributed to and was nourished by agriculture. The greatest agricultural advances came in transportation , where first canals, then railroads and steamships made possible the shipment of food from areas of surplus. This in turn allowed more specialization and productivity, but most importantly, it reduced the threat of starvation. The steamship ultimately brought refrigerated meat to Europe from distant Argentina and Australia . Without these massive increases in food shipments the exploding populations and greatly increased demand for labor by newly emerging industries could not have been sustained.

In turn the Industrial Revolution introduced major advances in farm technology, such as the cotton gin, mechanical reaper, improved plows, and, in this century, tractors and trucks. These advances enabled fewer and fewer farmers to feed larger and larger populations, freeing workers to fill demands for factory labor and the growing service industries.

Finally, agriculture has fully participated in the scientific advances of the twentieth century. Key developments include hybrid corn, the high responders in tropical lands, described as the "Green Revolution," and current genetic research. Agriculture has benefited enormously from scientific advances in biology, and the future here is bright for applied research, especially involving genetics. Great potential exists for the development of crop strains with greatly improved dietary characteristics, such as higher protein or reduced fat.

Growing populations, made possible by these food surpluses, have forced agricultural expansion onto less and less desirable lands. Because agriculture radically simplifies ecosystems and greatly amplifies soil erosion , many areas such as the Mediterranean Basin and tropical forest lands have suffered severe degradation.

Major developments in civilization are directly linked to the agricultural revolution. A sedentary lifestyle, essential to technological development, was both mandated and made possible by farming. Urbanization flourished, which encouraged specialization and division of labor. Large populations provided the energy for massive projects, such as the Egyptian pyramids and the colossal engineering efforts of the Romans.

The plow represented the first lever, both lifting and overturning the soil. The draft animal provided the first in a long line of nonhuman energy sources. Plant and animal selectivity are likely the first application of science and technology toward specific goals. A number of important crops bear little resemblance to the ancestors from which they were derived. Animals such as the fat-tailed sheep represent thoughtful cultural control of their lineage.

Climate dominates agriculture, second only to irrigation . Farmers are especially vulnerable to variations, such as late or early frosts, heavy rains, or drought . Rice, wheat, and maize have become the dominant crops globally because of their high caloric yield, versatility within their climate range, and their cultural status as the "staff of life." Many would not consider a meal complete without rice, bread, or tortillas. This cultural influence is so strong that even starving peoples have rejected unfamiliar food. China provides a good example of such cultural differences, with a rice culture in the south and a wheat culture (noodles) in the north.

These crops all need a wet season for germination and growth, followed by a dry season to allow spoilage-free storage. Rice was domesticated in the monsoonal lands of Southeast Asia, while wheat originated in the Fertile Crescent of the Middle East. Historically, wheat was planted in the fall, and harvested in late spring, coinciding with the cycle of wet and dry seasons in the Mediterranean region. Maize needs the heavy summer rains provided by the Mexican highland climate.

Other crops predominate in areas with less suitable climates. These include barley in semiarid lands; oats and potatoes in cool, moist lands; rye in colder climates with short growing seasons; and dry rice on hillsides and drier lands where paddy rice is impractical.

Although food production is the main emphasis in agriculture, more and more industrial applications have evolved. Cloth fibers have been a mainstay, but paper products and many chemicals now come from cultivated plants.

The agricultural revolution is also associated with some of mankind's darker moments. In the tropical and subtropical climates of the New World, slave labor was extensive. Close, unsanitary living conditions have fostered plagues of biblical proportions. And the desperate dependence on agriculture is all too vividly evident in the records of historic and contemporary famine . As a world, people are never more than one harvest away from global starvation, a fact amplified by the growing understanding of cosmic catastrophes.

Some argue that the agricultural revolution masks the growing hazards of an overpopulated, increasingly contaminated earth. Since the agricultural revolution has been so productive it has more than compensated for the population explosion of the last two centuries. Some appropriately labeled "cornucopians" believe there is yet much potential for increased food production, especially through scientific agriculture and genetic engineering . There is much room for optimism, and also for a sobering assessment of the environmental costs of agricultural progress. We must continually strive for answers to the challenges associated with the agricultural revolution.

[Nathan H. Meleen ]

RESOURCES

BOOKS

Anderson, E. "Man as a Maker of New Plants and New Plant Communities." In Man's Role in Changing the Face of the Earth, edited by W. L. Thomas Jr. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1956.

Doyle, J. Altered Harvest: Agriculture, Genetics, and the Fate of the World's Food Supply. New York: Penguin, 1985.

Gliessman, S. R., ed. Agroecology: Researching the Ecological Basis for Sustainable Agriculture. New York: Springer-Verlag, 1990.

Jackson, R. H., and L. E. Hudman. Cultural Geography: People, Places, and Environment. St. Paul, MN: West, 1990.

Narr, K. J. "Early Food-Producing Populations." In Man's Role in Changing the Face of the Earth, edited by W. L. Thomas, Jr. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1956.

Simpson, L. B. "The Tyrant: Maize." In The Cultural Landscape, edited by C. Salter. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 1971.