20th Century Green Revolution & Agriculture

• "The 20th Century Green Revolution, Ultra-Processing, Health and Hospitality" is the title of the presentation for Week 6.

The 2nd Millennium and Agriculture

• Agriculture's gifts include highly organized social order, wealth accumulation, tools, enhanced ability to reproduce work, specialized skills, economic specialization, defense, stable supply of calories, and greater knowledge of medicine.
• Agriculture's curses include environmental degradation, loss of topsoil, deforestation, climate change, high use of chemicals and fossil fuels, capital intensity, nutrient loss, metabolic disorders, systemic distribution inequalities, and industry concentration.

Farming and Its Revolutions

• Farming can be viewed as progress.
• The first agricultural revolution is about how and why humans transitioned to farming.
• Farming's benefits include food surpluses, population increase, better shelters, wealth accumulation, societal structures, specialization of labor, development of new skills, and trade
• Farming's costs are workload increases, nutritional imbalances, disease, pests, meteorological risk, and deep class/sex divisions.
• Quote by Jarrod Diamond: "Forced to choose between limiting population or trying to increase food production, we chose the latter and ended up with starvation, warfare, and tyranny."
• Modern farming is also called the second agricultural revolution.
• The Green Revolution is also called the Third Agricultural Revolution.
• The costs of modern farming impact people, the planet, and potentially profit.
• Farming and climate influence each other.
• Gas emissions, chemical use, soil and crop management, and transportation relating to agriculture contribute to climate change.
• Climatic changes in temperature, rainfall, and pollution negatively impact agricultural production.
• Annual greenhouse gas emissions are broken down by sector.
• Global food systems emissions can be broken down, including fertilizer, animal feed, and pesticides.
• Farming and capitalism are related.

Processed Foods

• How humans went from farming to ultra-processing.
• Wars influence food processing.
• Food processing transforms agricultural products into food, or from one food form into another.
• Primary food processing makes food edible.
• Secondary food processing turns ingredients into familiar food, like bread.
• Tertiary processing is what most people think of as "processed foods" - calorie-dense but poor in nutrition and generally unhealthy.

A Brief History of Processed Foods

• 1.8M years ago: Roasted meat was an example of processed foods
• 30,000 years ago: Bread was an example of processed foods
• 7000 BC: Beer was an example of processed foods
• 6700 BC: Tortillas were an example of processed foods
• 5400 BC: Wine was an example of processed foods
• 5000 BC: Cheese was an example of processed foods
• 4500 BC: Olive oil was an example of processed foods
• 3000 BC: Palm oil was an example of processed foods
• 2400 BC: Pickles were an example of processed foods
• 2000 BC: Noodles were an example of processed foods
• 1900 BC: Chocolate was an example of processed foods
• 1000 BC: Jiang was an example of processed foods
• 500 BC: Sugar was an example of processed foods
• 40 AD: Mustard was an example of processed foods
• 700 AD: Kimchi was an example of processed foods
• 965 AD: Tofu was an example of processed foods
• 1000: Salt cod was an example of processed foods
• 1500: Peanut butter was an example of processed foods
• 1550: Coffee was an example of processed foods
• 1767: Carbonated water was an example of processed foods
• 1894: Corn flakes was an example of processed foods
• 1908: MSG was an example of processed foods
• 1926: Spam was an example of processed foods
• 1950: Chicken nuggets was an example of processed foods
• 1890s: trans fats were invented and entered the food supply in the 1910s.
• 1920s: ready-to-cook foods became more available.
• WWI introduced new food processing, including canned and frozen foods, promising to save time for housewives.
• Gas stoves, electric refrigerators, and other kitchen tools emerged.
• During the 1930s Great Depression, families reduced protein and added more vegetables/beans.
• Colonel Harland Sanders invented his secret formula.
• WW2 in the 1940s involved rationing to feed soldiers, introducing convenience foods from military research.
• Increased crop yield and chemical fertilization decreased micronutrients.
• Subsidies for corn and soy created incentive for high fructose corn syrup, etc.
• Guidelines for added bread, milk, and cereal vitamins/minerals were developed.
• In the 1950s fast food restaurants were popular.
• Mass distribution occurred because of highways.
• Television ads for processed food sales skyrocketed in America.
• The 1960s involved radical change and experimentation
• Julia Child and ethnic foods became more well known.
• Vegetarianism and outdoor cooking emerged.
• Aluminum cans, irradiation, and soft drinks become more common
• Economic challenges in the 1970s lead to the simplification of foods.
• Risks of Additives were coming to light (red dye #2).
• High fructose corn syrup was increasingly prevalent
• A surge of "Lite" products occurred.
• In the 1980s, artificial sweetener aspartame was approved by the FDA.
• The first genetically engineered crop plant (tomato) was developed.
• The 1990s saw progress labeling with standard nutrition information.
• A vast array of artificial sweeteners emerged.
• Nostalgia for "real foods" caused new food trends.

Designer Foods and Health

• Designer foods are related to "The Bliss Point."
• Mississippi has the highest obesity rate in the USA at 34.6%
• Colorado has the lowest obesity rate in the USA at 20.5%
• Newfoundland has the highest obesity rate in Canada at 27.7%.
• British Columbia has the lowest obesity rate in Canada at 14.5%.
• At 18.4%, Ontario is the same as the national rate in Canada.

Problems and Solutions

• Problems include climate change, land management issues, health concerns, and distribution inequalities.
• Solutions include food sovereignty.
• Food Sovereignty involves Crop diversification, seed preservation/rehabilitation, reconnecting consumers to food systems, shortening the supply chain, and reducing regional vulnerabilities

Next Week

• How trends are defining the future of food systems along with presentations.

Presentation on the 20th Century Green Revolution, focusing on agriculture's gifts and curses. The gifts include organized social order and wealth accumulation. Curses include environmental degradation, climate change, and industry concentration.