Similar to what I mentioned at the very beginning of my previous post, it is important to keep in mind that agriculture is constantly evolving. With this in mind, the Industrial Revolution (IR) was just one adaptation of many, and the time period of those advancements happened at different times all over the world; in fact some populations are even going through them now.
Unfortunately, this makes separating the agricultural timeline into different phases impossible. Subsequently I need to become more societally, geographically, and chronologically focused in order to properly examine impacts of agriculture. Since technologies in most parts of Europe and America have developed at roughly the same pace, I will focus my blogs from henceforth on these “modern” societies.
Also, this arbitrary second phase will be limited to the time period prior to such technological advancements such as electricity and personal automobiles. I will pick up from this technological checkpoint on my next blog posting.
Unfortunately, this makes separating the agricultural timeline into different phases impossible. Subsequently I need to become more societally, geographically, and chronologically focused in order to properly examine impacts of agriculture. Since technologies in most parts of Europe and America have developed at roughly the same pace, I will focus my blogs from henceforth on these “modern” societies.
Also, this arbitrary second phase will be limited to the time period prior to such technological advancements such as electricity and personal automobiles. I will pick up from this technological checkpoint on my next blog posting.
The above picture is that of farmers from Oregon in the late 1800's using about a dozen field-hands and steam engine technology to get some sort of job done on their farm. In contrast, the picture below (Figure #13) is that of a large amount of Brazilian slaves working in the fields of a sugarcane plantation using only hand tools.
I think that the difference between these two pictures is a great representation of transformation from Pre-Industrial Agriculture into the Post Industrial Revolution (Post IR). The reason why is because after the IR, technology such as the steam engine replaced field-hands and greatly reduced the dependence on manual labor. But I'm getting a head of myself. Let me back up just a little bit and provide a better understanding of what I mean by the Industrial Revolution (IR).
Wikipedia once again comes to the rescue and defines the Industrial Revolution as the "transition to new manufacturing processes in the period from about 1760 to sometime between 1820 and 1840." For the purpose of this blog, that definition almost provides enough background information. However, I would like to add that this technological revolution also incorporated advancements in culture, medicine, agriculture, and many other memes. Some of the many principal changes that this cultural growth-spurt caused was relocation of population centers to more urbanized environments, changes in quality of life as a result of medical improvements, and shifts in food production.
The following is a poem written by Lindsay Laurie: Titled Earthly Grains
Wikipedia once again comes to the rescue and defines the Industrial Revolution as the "transition to new manufacturing processes in the period from about 1760 to sometime between 1820 and 1840." For the purpose of this blog, that definition almost provides enough background information. However, I would like to add that this technological revolution also incorporated advancements in culture, medicine, agriculture, and many other memes. Some of the many principal changes that this cultural growth-spurt caused was relocation of population centers to more urbanized environments, changes in quality of life as a result of medical improvements, and shifts in food production.
The following is a poem written by Lindsay Laurie: Titled Earthly Grains
Bound together, our earth with rain and fire,
Chemical reactions, pressure, heat and mire.
Drowning valleys, drying plains, raising mountains,
Boiling rivers, running red in winding bubbling lava.
Subsiding, settling, cooling through uneasy peace,
Millions of years behind us now, but the turmoil's never spent,
Passed across the dinosaur, evolved beyond the dreamtime,
Quickly respond the colonies, in the oldest continent.
Gather each flower! Gather each leaf!
The old world students gather in disbelief.
Summarized is the botany. Surveyed is the land,
Discovered are the stone, the lode, and reef.
The shafts, mines, railways, leading to the factories,
Running endless belts, as cogs wind into motion,
Live on the education, indoctrinated from the old country,
The industrial revolution has come far across the ocean.
Whatever forest stood here, cannot stand here any more.
The trees are turned to fire; water into rising steam.
A barren field surrounds, a crater in the ground,
Coal is carbon now, iron, and a consumers dream.
There must be millions on this planet like me,
Living out our dreams on mortgaged money.
It's new; it shines, fresh off the assembly line.
More and more are needed, to boost the economy.
These earthly gains…
Built to alleviate our pains.
Sparkling to attract my kind,
We never think about the clever mind.
Time becomes the killer; nothing stays the same.
The beating sun, driving rain, interchanging mud and dust,
Take us to our final payment, finally in our name.
The shine has gone, and too the drive...the body's filled with rust.
Although the author of this poem did not live through the IR, she does a great job of describing the urbanization during that time. A major stepping stone required for the IR involved agricultural advancements (just another step in its evolution) that Britain that led to higher food production with fewer workers. This quote from Wikianswers.com describes this evolutionary step very well: "Because the sudden abundance of agricultural technology caused higher production and less workers needed meaning people moved to cities causing urbanization and sudden, great leaps in productivity." In other words, advancements in agricultural technology allowed people to mass-migrate to urban cities, and eventually the city dwellers found jobs in factories (which developed and spread rapidly as a result of large amounts of coal from mining). Figure #14 shows the dramatic population growth in cities during this transition. This created a snowball effect that attracted more people to the city, which required more services and pushed for advancements in medicine and other fields. Eventually, population centers shifted from rural communities to bustling cities.
Similar to Pre-IR agrarian societies, increased population densities caused many health concerns. Fortunately, medical technology had also evolved throughout the centuries, albeit with extra incentive from the growing cities. Some of the major advancements were the discovery of microbes, vaccinations, improved sanitation (sewers), penicillin, and many others that saved lives. More details as to what, how, when, and effects are explained in this YouTube video:
It is important to note than many of these medical advancements provided remedies to the health concerns of the agrarian society. In addition, these health improvements drastically lowered infant mortality rate, which further increased the population.
The last principal change of the IR that I will talk about is the effects on food production. Daniel Lieberman beautifully summarizes all these changes into a single quote. He says "The invention of agriculture caused the human food supply to increase in quantity and deteriorate in quality, but food industrialization multiplied this effect" (Pg. 225). The Harvard professor goes on to elaborate on that point. Going with the flow of the IR, food production became more industrialized, streamlined, and directed at the consumers wants. Farmers knew what type of food people desired - fat, starch, sugar, and salt - all ancient cravings engraved into our stomachs from H&G lifestyles. Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on how you would answer me initial driving question, food producers (different from traditional farmers) were able to boost these qualities in what they produced while making the growing process very efficient and cheap. Also, chemists and microbiologists developed fertilizers and pesticides, which greatly increased yields. Lastly, because many people lived in the city, there was a large time gap between when food was harvested and when it was consumed. Better preservation and storage technologies became a necessity, as salting food was no longer an option at such massive production scales. Once again, technical innovation answered this call for help in many different ways, including canning, refrigerating with ice blocks and adding preservatives.
These are only a few examples of changes in the agriculture as it became more industrialized. Regardless of what the actual advancements were, all these factors had the same end result-- A superabundance of inexpensive calorie-dense food.
Being the predictable person I strive to be, it is time to summarize. Agricultural innovations in Britain allowed for fewer farmers to have greater production, which allowed for people in rural environments to migrate to the city in massive amounts to work in factories. More people meant there was a greater need for services, and eventually more people were involved with servicing others than with manufacturing. Technology and science also had revolutions in their own merit and together great medical advancements were achieved that eliminated many health issues caused by agriculture. Finally, farming turned into industrialized food production, resulting in a superabundance of inexpensive calorie-dense food.
The last principal change of the IR that I will talk about is the effects on food production. Daniel Lieberman beautifully summarizes all these changes into a single quote. He says "The invention of agriculture caused the human food supply to increase in quantity and deteriorate in quality, but food industrialization multiplied this effect" (Pg. 225). The Harvard professor goes on to elaborate on that point. Going with the flow of the IR, food production became more industrialized, streamlined, and directed at the consumers wants. Farmers knew what type of food people desired - fat, starch, sugar, and salt - all ancient cravings engraved into our stomachs from H&G lifestyles. Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on how you would answer me initial driving question, food producers (different from traditional farmers) were able to boost these qualities in what they produced while making the growing process very efficient and cheap. Also, chemists and microbiologists developed fertilizers and pesticides, which greatly increased yields. Lastly, because many people lived in the city, there was a large time gap between when food was harvested and when it was consumed. Better preservation and storage technologies became a necessity, as salting food was no longer an option at such massive production scales. Once again, technical innovation answered this call for help in many different ways, including canning, refrigerating with ice blocks and adding preservatives.
These are only a few examples of changes in the agriculture as it became more industrialized. Regardless of what the actual advancements were, all these factors had the same end result-- A superabundance of inexpensive calorie-dense food.
Being the predictable person I strive to be, it is time to summarize. Agricultural innovations in Britain allowed for fewer farmers to have greater production, which allowed for people in rural environments to migrate to the city in massive amounts to work in factories. More people meant there was a greater need for services, and eventually more people were involved with servicing others than with manufacturing. Technology and science also had revolutions in their own merit and together great medical advancements were achieved that eliminated many health issues caused by agriculture. Finally, farming turned into industrialized food production, resulting in a superabundance of inexpensive calorie-dense food.
This marks the beginning of the end for healthy bodies. Say HELLO TO FAT!
I will talk about this much more in my following blog posts. However, I want make sure that it is clear what this transition means. Firstly, falling snowball that is urbanization and mechanical advancements replacing human labor led to more and more occupations focused on services rather than production. In other words, the amount of physical energy exerted on a daily base drastically declined as there was a dramatic decrease in jobs requiring physical labor.
Secondly, food production systemization led to easily available very low-quality foods that humans are hardwired to stuff our faces with. This means that the amount of energy (food) we intake is dramatically increased while the amount of energy we exert (physical labor) in exchange for this food is proportionally incredibly low.
If you remember from one of my earlier posts, I spoke about H&G societies having very similar energy intake and output levels and that almost no genetic change has occurred in humans since then. This means our bodies are not adapted to having a energy imbalance. Unfortunately for people in Western societies, we have evolved to store excess energy as fat. In the next post I will show how this bodily function reacts to our modern lifestyles.
Secondly, food production systemization led to easily available very low-quality foods that humans are hardwired to stuff our faces with. This means that the amount of energy (food) we intake is dramatically increased while the amount of energy we exert (physical labor) in exchange for this food is proportionally incredibly low.
If you remember from one of my earlier posts, I spoke about H&G societies having very similar energy intake and output levels and that almost no genetic change has occurred in humans since then. This means our bodies are not adapted to having a energy imbalance. Unfortunately for people in Western societies, we have evolved to store excess energy as fat. In the next post I will show how this bodily function reacts to our modern lifestyles.
Figure #12: http://arcweb.sos.state.or.us/pages/exhibits/1857/after/econ.htm
Figure #13: http://apworldhistory2012-2013.weebly.com/uploads/9/9/9/6/9996001/757781271.jpg?465
Figure #14: http://www.emeraldinsight.com/content_images/fig/2760540506001.png
Figure #13: http://apworldhistory2012-2013.weebly.com/uploads/9/9/9/6/9996001/757781271.jpg?465
Figure #14: http://www.emeraldinsight.com/content_images/fig/2760540506001.png
"Industrial Revolution." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 112 Apr. 2014. Web. 1712Apr. 2014.
"Why Did the Agricultural Revolution Lead to Industrial Revolution?"WikiAnswers. Answers Corporation, n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2014.
LIEBERMAN, D. 2013. The Story of the Human Body: Evolution, Health, and Disease. Pantheon Books, New York. Chapter 8 & 9
"Why Did the Agricultural Revolution Lead to Industrial Revolution?"WikiAnswers. Answers Corporation, n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2014.
LIEBERMAN, D. 2013. The Story of the Human Body: Evolution, Health, and Disease. Pantheon Books, New York. Chapter 8 & 9