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Effect of wheat in agriculture
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“Here is bread, which strengthens man’s heart, and therefore called the staff of life,” said Matthew Henry, a greatly famous English Presbyterian minister known for his great commitment to the Church. http://izquotes.com/quote/236651 This quote better demonstrates the profound positive effects that wheat has had on mankind and re-instates the fact that wheat is like a man’s very own soul and heart. This otherwise over-looked crop dates back to the earliest, innovation-laden civilizations all the way to the currently technologically advanced, bustling modern societies. Enduring through harsh winters and passing years, wheat refuses to lose its charm and benefits in changing eras and lifestyles; it persistently strives to make a difference to modern society. It has without a doubt revolutionized the lifestyles of people. Wheat can be referred to as “the mother of necessities” as it is the root cause for the development of plentiful other commodities, some of which include bread, barley, and beer. This long, thin crop has formed the foundation of modern society and has played an essential role in our otherwise-technologically advanced age of modern technology. Wheat has undoubtedly richened human history by facilitating modern civilizations and giving birth to various other innovations that have aided humans just as much. Wheat’s golden appearance well represents the high value it has today in the 21st century and all the products that come from grinding this treasured crop, innovation, food source, and beverage source-wheat. Although many may argue that technology and wheat are two different subjects of matter and interest that ought not to be mixed, they fail to realize the interconnection between the two. Wheat is what actuall...
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...s of wheat would need to be harvested to sustain the rapidly growing human population, which in fact corresponds to the that of the weight of 131 male African elephants. http://www.fao.org/docrep/006/Y4011E/y4011e04.htm For Above Link
Whilst the fact that wheat has led to thriving past and future generations, it has also been the primary cause of turmoil and war in nations around the world. One such example is the Flour War, which occurred in parts of the Kingdom of France around 1775, over the high prices that usually came along with wheat. Wheat was and continues to be a thriving business and is today one of the most important crops in the world. In the Flour War, prices of wheat, bread, and other related commodities all were plummeting upwards; wheat’s value was so great around the 1700’s that only wealthy landowners could own this luxury.
After the civil war, America found itself with a high production rate, resulting in overproduction and falling of prices, as well as an increase on economic stress and the beginning of panic and prosperity cycles. The wars demand for products had called for a more efficient production system; therefore new machinery had come into place. New tools, such as the reaper, shown in document D, the wheat harvest of 1880, were introduced and facilitated production for farmers, making overproduction more probable. Variation on prices than begun to occur as shown in document A, Agriculture prices in 1865-1900, where a greater amount of goods became available for a more convenient price. This had farmers in distress, for they were losing more money than they were making.
Jared Diamond Argues that the worst mistake in Human History is the invention and widespread introduction of agriculture, because it has created a plethora of social, economic, and health problems for the word. One example of this is when the article states, “Hunter-Gatherers enjoyed a varied diet, while early farmers obtained most of their food from one or a few starchy crops. The farmers gained cheap calories at the cost of poor nutrition.” This illustrates that the author's main argument is that agriculture was the worst mistake in human history because it shows how agriculture has negatively impacted health of both early farmers and people today by creating mass produced bulk crops that are low in nutrition. Furthermore, another example
While older people and especially the cattleman that experienced the 1890s should stay grassland with soil unplowed their words fell on deaf ears (The Great Plow Up). As Worster described in The Great Plow Up, the American Breadbasket tended to increase production of wheat regardless of the commodity prices rose or fell. However, when prices rose, as they did with WWI and the government set wheat prices at twice the earlier rate, the Great Plains saw an influx of people looking to become wealthy, especially as the labour became mechanized (Steinberg,
Egan notes, “No group of people took a more dramatic leap in lifestyle or prosperity, in such a short time, than wheat farmers on the Great Plains” (Egan 42). The revenue from selling wheat far exceeded the cost of producing the wheat, so the large profit attracted people to produce more and more wheat. On top of the high profit from wheat, the Great War caused the price of wheat to rise even more. The supply of wheat rose with the price, but Egan points to information to demonstrate that the rapid increase in production can lead to overproduction, which is damaging to the land. Also, the invention of the tractor also lead to overproduction of the land by creating the ability to dramatically cut the time it took to harvest acres. When the prices for wheat began to fall due to overproduction, this caused the farmers to produce even more output to be able to make the same earnings as when the prices were higher. The government also played a part in promoting the overproduction of the land. The Federal Bureau of Soils claimed that, “The soil is the one indestructible, immutable asset that the nation possessed. It is the one resource that cannot be exhausted, that cannot be used up” (Egan 51). Egan points to factors such as a high profit margin, the Great War, tractors, increased outputs when wheat prices fell, and governmental claims that caused the people to overproduce the land of the Great Plains. Egan then gives examples of how the overproduction destroyed the land. Egan explains that the farmers saw their only way out was to plant more wheat. This overproduction tore up the grass of the Great Plains, thus making the land more susceptible to the severe dust storms of the Dust
The country at the time was in the deepest and soon to be longest-lasting economic downturn in the history of the Western industrialized world and this caused years of over-cultivation of wheat, because “during the laissez-faire, expansionist 1920’s the plains were extensively and put to wheat - turned into highly mechanized factory farms that produced highly unprecedented harvests” (Worster 12). ¬The farmer’s actions were prompted by the economic decline America was facing. With the economy in a recession, farmers were looking for a way to make a living and in 1930 wheat crop were becoming very popular. In 1931 the wheat crop was considered a bumper crop with over twelve million bushels of wheat. Wheat was emerging all over the plains. The wheat supply forced the price down from sixty-eight cents/bushel in July 1930 to twenty-five cents/bushel in July 1931. Many farmers went broke and others abandoned their fields, but most decided to stay despite the unfavorable
Crops such as cotton and wheat, once the sustenance of the agriculture industry, were selling at prices so low that it was nearly impossible for farmers to make a profit off them. Furthermore, improvements in transportation allowed foreign competition to materialize, making it harder for American farmers to dispose of surplus crops. Mother Nature was also showing no mercy with grasshoppers, floods, and major droughts that led to a downward spiral of business that devastated many of the nation’s farmers. As a result of the agricultural depression, numerous farms groups, most notably the Populist Party, arose to fight what the farmers saw as the reasons for the decline in agriculture. During the final twenty years of the nineteenth century, many farmers in the United States saw monopolies and trusts, railroads, and money shortages and the loss in value of silver as threats to their way of life, all of which could be recognized as valid complaints.
The Roaring Twenties approached and the citizens in Colorado were facing rough times. In 1920, many people such as farm owners, manufacturers, and even miners were having a hard time making a living due to an economic downfall. The farmers especially, where facing the toughest of times. The price of various farm-grown goods like wheat, sugar beets, and even cattle was dropping because their goods were no longer needed by the public. Wheat had dropped in price from $2.02 in 1918 to $0.76 by the time 1921 came around. Sadly, the land that they were using to grow wheat became dry and many farmers had to learn to grow through “dryland farming” which became very popular in the eastern plains from 1910 to 1930 (Hard Times: 1920 - 1940). Apple trees began to die due to the lack of desire for apples, poor land, and decreased prices. Over the course of World War I, the prices of farm goods began to increase slowly. Farmers were not the only one facing this economic hardship while others in big cities were enjoying the Roaring Twenties.
Before the land of what we no class Turkey, Iraq, Jordan, and other countries in the middle east grains, such as wheat and wild barley, could be seen growing in the wild without human hand to cultivate and nurture it (Authors 2007). Over time, humans began to recognize the benefit of the plants and began the first signs of human agriculture. The skill of farming took time and trial and error, but along the way, humans began to settle down to tend to their crops. Though the first crops were nothing more than seed s thrown about without rhyme or reason to the process we know today such as fields having, rows and sorting out the seeds to create a higher yield each harvest (Authors 2007). Because of the trial and error process, agriculture of plants did not take place of a short period but took many, many years to evolve to what we know today as agriculture; the new fa...
Most of the reasons concerning agrarian discontent in the late nineteenth century stem from supposed threats posed by monopolies and trusts, railroads, money shortages and the demonetization of silver, though in many cases their complaints were not valid. The American farmer at this time already had his fair share of problems, perhaps even perceived as unfair in regards to the success industrialized businessmen were experiencing. Nevertheless, crops such as cotton and wheat, which were once the staples of an agricultural society, were selling at such low prices that it was nearly impossible for farmers to make a profit off them, especially since some had invested a great deal of money in modern equipment that would allow them to produce twice as many goods. Furthermore, improvements in transportation allowed foreign competition to emerge, making it harder for American Farmers to not only dispose of surplus crop, but to transport crops period. Finally, years of drought in the Midwest and the degeneration of business in the 1890's devastated many of the nation's farmers, and as a result of this agricultural depression' many farm groups, most notably the Populist Party, arose to fight what farmers saw as the reasons for the decline of agriculture.
It is a known fact that the world population is increasing without bound; however, there is a debate if this increase is a good thing or if it will prove catastrophic. The article “The Tragedy of the Commons” by Garrett Hardin discusses how the ever-increasing world population will exhaust the world of its natural resources, and eliminate human’s capability for survival. On the other side of the argument is Julian L. Simon who wrote “More People, Greater Wealth, More Resources, Healthier Environment.” This article proposes the theory that with an increase in population, humans’s quality of life is amplified. One particular issue that they both mention and have drastically different views on is the future of agriculture and human’s ability to sustain it.
The most wonderful activity a human being can experience is new flavors and foods. For example, the first time a person tastes a delicious juicy piece of prime rib or a delightful hamburger with cheese and ham, his world is never the same. However, since the beginning of the twentieth century, the production of food has been supplemented by science. This has triggered an angry dispute between the people who support the advances of biotechnology and people who love nature. In order to understand the controversy, we have to know the meaning of genetically modified foods. With new technological advances, scientists can modify seeds from a conventional seed to a high tech seed with shorter maturation times and resistance to dryness, cold and heat. This is possible with the implementation of new genes into the DNA of the conventional seed. Once these "transgenes" are transferred, they can create plants with better characteristics (Harris 164-165). The farmers love it not only because it guarantees a good production, but the cost is also reduced. On the other hand, organizations such as Greenpeace and Friends of Earth have campaigned against GMO (“Riesgos”) because they think that they are negatively affecting the earth (Gerdes 26). Both the advocates and the opponents of genetically modified foods have excellent arguments.
The production of beef produces requires a lot of energy and leaves a huge carbon footprint on planet earth. The process of producing beef goes far beyond raising cattle. It includes heavy water use, immense amounts of land to grow grain and/or corn, and requires an almost endless amount transportation. We have to consider not only the amount of land the cattle physically occupy, but also the amount of land used to grow the huge amount of food they require. To put it into perspective, the production of beef uses “30% of the earth’s land mass” (Peta 2013). In addition, it takes 31.5kWh of energy to produce 1lb of beef, approximately 58lbs of CO2 emissions (Federal Register 2010). Speaking of energy, the amount of grain fed to cattle is staggeringly high. Including beef cattle and dairy cattle if all that feed “were consumed directly by people, the number of people who could be fed would be nearly 800 million" (Pimentel, David 2014). And yet another aspect of this, perhaps an externality effect on the environment is deforestation, land dehydration, and contamination of water sources from runoff.
It is ridiculous to imagine that 80% of all of the world’s agricultural land is being used for animal production. These resources could be used to feel millions of hungry/malnourished families (Duden).
...ural land to produce soybeans, and manioc for export to feed cattle. As you can see the real cause of hunger is the lack of access to food, not the lack of food itself. Hopefully some day we will be able to distribute the food that we have to all of the hungry people across the world. This would be the real fix to the problem, not genetically altered foods.
Establishing an adequate supply of food is historically one of the fundamental challenges facing mankind. The modern food infrastructure employed by contemporary society is rooted in the creation and innovation of food production. Its effective utilization decreases the level of societal labor contribution required and discourages food shortage trepidation amongst individuals. It is hard to fathom given the current status of our society massive agricultural-industrial complex that the hunter-gatherer organization of society dominated for more than 99 percent of our existence (Fagan 2007: 126). The hunter-gatherer population was characterized by their primary subsistence method, which involved the direct procurement of edible plants and animals from the wild. The primary methods employed were foraging and hunting, which were conducted without any significant recourse to the domestication of either food source (Fagan 2007: 129). Food production is presumed to have emerged approximately 12,000 years ago as a system of “deliberate cultivation of cereal grasses, edible root plants, and animal domestication” (Fagan 2007: 126). The pronounced change from hunting and gathering to agriculture and domestication can be simplistically designated the Agricultural or Neolithic Revolution (Pringle 1998). The catalytic developments of the Neolithic Revolution mark a major turning point in the history of humankind. The resulting animal and plant domestication established the foundation on which modern civilization was built.