The Hi-Tech Agriculture Imperative
The Hi-Tech Agriculture Imperative
Aug 10, 2011 6
For two centuries we have been winning the battle to maintain adequate food supply. There is still much more to be done. Crop protection products have long played a significant role in agriculture. Since humanity evolved from nomadic hunter-gatherers to a sedentary agrarian people, we have struggled to provide for ourselves while battling the pests of nature that compete with us for the same food. The fossil record demonstrates that insects from 390 million years ago fed on early land plants, while humans have cultivated those same plants for only 10,000 years. Insects have obviously had a long head start on capturing the nutrients of these plants for themselves. Without a consistent way to feed their people, empires have fallen and wars have been waged in the battle to maintain an adequate food supply. It was only two centuries ago that new methods for pest control fueled population growth and spurred an intellectual revolution that continues today.
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