Cursed is the ground for your sake; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, and you shall eat the herb of the field. In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you shall return. (Genesis 3:17, King James Bible)
For those of you (like myself) who are not up to date on scripture reading, this passage talks about the banishment from the Garden of Eden. It is describing the new lifestyle that Adam, Eve, and the rest of humanity will face now that there is no longer a utopia on Earth. Coincidently, this also describes what an agricultural lifestyle is like. Daniel Lieberman makes the point that maybe the departure from the Garden of Eden is actually a metaphor for the transition from H&G to agriculture.
Before you read on about different phases of agriculture, you must understand two things:
Let’s set the scene: A population of people that live in one of the agricultural hubs of the world no longer obtains any of its sustenance from hunting and gathering; and for a few generations has been relying almost entirely on agriculture for food. Their diet is very monotonous and consists of only a few staple foods (i.e. bread from wheat, some meat, lentils and peas, and the occasional fruit), and nothing else. Although labor requirements change seasonally, they generally put in slightly more energy into their daily work than hunter-gatherers, but depend more on power than on endurance. Also, the surplus of food has allowed population to exponentially grow, creating dense population centers where diseases are able to spread.
With a few situational varieties, this was the baseline for most agricultural societies prior to the industrial revolution (Lieberman).
The youtube video below features yours truly talking about the relationship between population growth and Pre-Industrial agriculture.
- My focus is not necessarily on the actual process of agriculture or even the effect agriculture has on the labor force. Rather, I am talking about how agriculture shapes its surrounding society with a concentration on physical health in order to determine which lifestyle is more preferable.
- There is no stagnant "ideal" agricultural society. The agrarian lifestyle, technology, and practices were constantly evolving all over the world in multiple directions. I will do my best to summarize each "phase" without making over-arching assumptions, but remember that most of what I say is a generalization and cannot be applied to every situation.
Let’s set the scene: A population of people that live in one of the agricultural hubs of the world no longer obtains any of its sustenance from hunting and gathering; and for a few generations has been relying almost entirely on agriculture for food. Their diet is very monotonous and consists of only a few staple foods (i.e. bread from wheat, some meat, lentils and peas, and the occasional fruit), and nothing else. Although labor requirements change seasonally, they generally put in slightly more energy into their daily work than hunter-gatherers, but depend more on power than on endurance. Also, the surplus of food has allowed population to exponentially grow, creating dense population centers where diseases are able to spread.
With a few situational varieties, this was the baseline for most agricultural societies prior to the industrial revolution (Lieberman).
The youtube video below features yours truly talking about the relationship between population growth and Pre-Industrial agriculture.
(I forgot to mention in the video that infant mortality rates most likely remained the same, so this further proves that there was an increase in reproduction rates)
Now that I have explained (with Lady Gaga in the background) the intense population growth of early agriculture, I can talk about the implications of such an increase.
Disease:
For the first time in human history, people settled (became sedentary) in dense numbers as a result of agriculture. Although this promoted agricultural growth, it became an ideal breeding ground for infectious diseases. In addition, most of these diseases occurred as a result of living near livestock, and continue to harm people today. Contagions such as tuberculosis, measles, leprosy, influenza, plague, typhus, and maybe even smallpox are all a result of human contact with farm animals.
Adding insult to injury, early populations were not efficient at the removal of waste and lived in poor sanitary conditions. Rats, mice, fleas, and other insects all thrive in these dirty living conditions. Unfortunately, all these animals help in the spread of disease. While on the subject of spreading diseases, early agriculturalist usually practiced some sort of commerce, further spreading deadly diseases around the world (Lieberman).
In short: population growth --> high population density --> ideal settings for infectious diseases.
THE REASON WE ARE FAT: As well as why western diets are unhealthy!
Although early agriculturalists were not necessarily overweight, what they did to change our diet is one of the main reasons obesity is so prevalent. From what I have found in my research, there were 3 main changes that occurred: shift to monotonous diet, refinement that lead to loss of nutritional value, and dependence on starch.
Monotonous Diet
According to Daniel Lieberman, the shift from a H&G lifestyle to an agricultural one can be represented by a diet consisting of dozens of different plants and animals changing to only a handful of staple crops and animals. One of the effects of this loss in variety is that many vitamins, minerals, and nutrients that were present in the H&G society no longer were in the diet. As a result, many people suffered from nutritional deficiencies such as scurvy, pellagra, and anemia. In modern times, this issue is resolved with the many multivitamins and mineral pills that so many people take on a daily basis.
Now that I have explained (with Lady Gaga in the background) the intense population growth of early agriculture, I can talk about the implications of such an increase.
Disease:
For the first time in human history, people settled (became sedentary) in dense numbers as a result of agriculture. Although this promoted agricultural growth, it became an ideal breeding ground for infectious diseases. In addition, most of these diseases occurred as a result of living near livestock, and continue to harm people today. Contagions such as tuberculosis, measles, leprosy, influenza, plague, typhus, and maybe even smallpox are all a result of human contact with farm animals.
Adding insult to injury, early populations were not efficient at the removal of waste and lived in poor sanitary conditions. Rats, mice, fleas, and other insects all thrive in these dirty living conditions. Unfortunately, all these animals help in the spread of disease. While on the subject of spreading diseases, early agriculturalist usually practiced some sort of commerce, further spreading deadly diseases around the world (Lieberman).
In short: population growth --> high population density --> ideal settings for infectious diseases.
THE REASON WE ARE FAT: As well as why western diets are unhealthy!
Although early agriculturalists were not necessarily overweight, what they did to change our diet is one of the main reasons obesity is so prevalent. From what I have found in my research, there were 3 main changes that occurred: shift to monotonous diet, refinement that lead to loss of nutritional value, and dependence on starch.
Monotonous Diet
According to Daniel Lieberman, the shift from a H&G lifestyle to an agricultural one can be represented by a diet consisting of dozens of different plants and animals changing to only a handful of staple crops and animals. One of the effects of this loss in variety is that many vitamins, minerals, and nutrients that were present in the H&G society no longer were in the diet. As a result, many people suffered from nutritional deficiencies such as scurvy, pellagra, and anemia. In modern times, this issue is resolved with the many multivitamins and mineral pills that so many people take on a daily basis.
![Picture](/uploads/2/8/2/9/28299417/398965.png?266)
Another issue with a society depending only on a few crops is that it leaves populations more susceptible to starvation. For example, a virus that eliminates a wheat field, a flood that wipes out unrooted crops, or a dry-spell that limits water availability could all be fatal in an early agricultural society. More than ever, this is true in modern societies. Lieberman estimates that over 50% of all the foods we eat come from only 5 basic crops. During the Irish Potato famine, this dependency proved to be very fatal.
Refinement
The process of domestication (according to wikipedia.org) means that humans alter certain aspects of crops or animals by using the method of selective breeding. This means that over multiple artificial selection cycles, a crops traits can be changed to benefit the cultivator. However, many agriculturalists selected for crops that promoted quantity, not quality. Using corn as our example, the picture below (Figure #11) shows the grass teosinte and modern day corn.
The process of domestication (according to wikipedia.org) means that humans alter certain aspects of crops or animals by using the method of selective breeding. This means that over multiple artificial selection cycles, a crops traits can be changed to benefit the cultivator. However, many agriculturalists selected for crops that promoted quantity, not quality. Using corn as our example, the picture below (Figure #11) shows the grass teosinte and modern day corn.
Believe it or not, that small green shrub is what wild corn looked like before our ancestors selected for traits favoring the more productive ears of corn. This type of transformation was very common and occurred with other crops such as wheat, peas, legumes, and fruit.
Most of the time, the domesticated plant grew faster, was sweeter, and was easier to process than there wild counterparts. However, all these transformations came at a dramatic cost.
Animals, like plants, were also subject to refinement. Most notorious in todays society is the refinement of cattle. Early farmers selected for cows that produced more milk, meat, and were more docile. Although there is much debate on whether or not there are any negative impacts of cattle domestication, it can be agreed that people manipulated natural plants and animals without a firm understanding or consideration of the impacts.
(The past few paragraph's information comes from multiple sources, such as Lieberman, Wikipedia, Fox news, and even from conversations with other Berkeley students)
Starch
Firstly, what is starch? Basically it is a simple carbohydrate, which usually is not present in large quantities in nature. Remember that in an earlier blog post I mentioned that humans evolved to stuff our faces, especially with energy rich substances? Well this is one of those energy-packed foods. Through the process of refinement, most fiber was removed from domesticated crops, which in effect causes the body to more rapidly digest foods. For reasons I will explain on a later day, this is a major cause of modern day health problems.
In addition, since humans are not biologically adapted to consuming such high amounts of simple carbohydrates, our bodies do not know how to react. One example is something all candy-loving kids are all too familiar with-- Cavities. Hunter and gatherers show very little evidence of teeth decay, since most of what they ate did not deteriorate their teeth. In contrast, too much starch creates plaque on teeth, something we have not evolved to compensate for, so cavities are created.
As usual, in my attempt to stay organized and focused with all this information, I need to summarize. Pre-Industrial agriculture, for better or for worse, had a symbiotic relationship with population growth. This populace swelling was ideal for the spread of many types of diseases, most of which were caused by humans living near animals and having poor sanitation. In terms of food, the major impacts early farming had were creating a monotonous and dependent diet, refining many important nutrients out of domesticated plants, and creating a dependence on starch.
Even though the main question I am trying to answer is whether or not it would be better living in a H&G society than living in a modern society, I can say with confidence that if I had the option of living in pre-industrial agricultural society or a Paleolithic one, I would choose to be exist in a H&G environment. The reason why is simple; the only PRO I can see is that the early farmers could both support and produce larger populations, while there are far more CONS such as diseases, less nutrition, and less leisure time.
However, there are still two more phases of agriculture that I will look at.
Most of the time, the domesticated plant grew faster, was sweeter, and was easier to process than there wild counterparts. However, all these transformations came at a dramatic cost.
- Fiber content was decreased (which leads to increased percentage of starch)
- The natural outer layers of plants containing plant oils, vitamins, and minerals were selected against
- Many of the characteristics selected against allowed for storage, but once removed crops would spoil more quickly
Animals, like plants, were also subject to refinement. Most notorious in todays society is the refinement of cattle. Early farmers selected for cows that produced more milk, meat, and were more docile. Although there is much debate on whether or not there are any negative impacts of cattle domestication, it can be agreed that people manipulated natural plants and animals without a firm understanding or consideration of the impacts.
(The past few paragraph's information comes from multiple sources, such as Lieberman, Wikipedia, Fox news, and even from conversations with other Berkeley students)
Starch
Firstly, what is starch? Basically it is a simple carbohydrate, which usually is not present in large quantities in nature. Remember that in an earlier blog post I mentioned that humans evolved to stuff our faces, especially with energy rich substances? Well this is one of those energy-packed foods. Through the process of refinement, most fiber was removed from domesticated crops, which in effect causes the body to more rapidly digest foods. For reasons I will explain on a later day, this is a major cause of modern day health problems.
In addition, since humans are not biologically adapted to consuming such high amounts of simple carbohydrates, our bodies do not know how to react. One example is something all candy-loving kids are all too familiar with-- Cavities. Hunter and gatherers show very little evidence of teeth decay, since most of what they ate did not deteriorate their teeth. In contrast, too much starch creates plaque on teeth, something we have not evolved to compensate for, so cavities are created.
As usual, in my attempt to stay organized and focused with all this information, I need to summarize. Pre-Industrial agriculture, for better or for worse, had a symbiotic relationship with population growth. This populace swelling was ideal for the spread of many types of diseases, most of which were caused by humans living near animals and having poor sanitation. In terms of food, the major impacts early farming had were creating a monotonous and dependent diet, refining many important nutrients out of domesticated plants, and creating a dependence on starch.
Even though the main question I am trying to answer is whether or not it would be better living in a H&G society than living in a modern society, I can say with confidence that if I had the option of living in pre-industrial agricultural society or a Paleolithic one, I would choose to be exist in a H&G environment. The reason why is simple; the only PRO I can see is that the early farmers could both support and produce larger populations, while there are far more CONS such as diseases, less nutrition, and less leisure time.
However, there are still two more phases of agriculture that I will look at.
Figure #8: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/76/Cole_Thomas_The_Garden_of_Eden_1828.jpg Figure #9: http://heritageofjapan.files.wordpress.com/2008/09/nihonnoruutsu-yayoi-rice.jpg
Figure #10: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ireland_population_change_1841_1851.png
Figure #11: http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/news/070201_corn
Figure #10: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ireland_population_change_1841_1851.png
Figure #11: http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/news/070201_corn
LIEBERMAN, D. 2013. The Story of the Human Body: Evolution, Health, and Disease. Pantheon Books, New York.