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How Did We Get Here?
The Development of the “Modern” Food System

Session 5

Summary
What are the origins of today’s agricultural system? Learners map the geographic origins of common foods and evaluate how changes in food-related technologies impact their eating habits. Then, learners read short selections about historic points in agriculture and create a timeline of significant global “food events” such as Columbus' voyage, the introduction of synthetic fertilizers, and the “green” revolution.

Guiding Questions

  • How did today’s food system develop?
  • What are the key historical events?
  • How are these historical events related?
  • What is technology? How has it developed in relation to agriculture?

Big Ideas

  • Technology related to food has changed over time, and this has impacted the overall food system.
  • Key points in “food history” include the agricultural revolution, Columbus’ voyage, the Scientific Revolution, the “green revolution,” the development of synthetic nitrogen fertilizer and the “gene revolution.”
  • Each of these developments created changes in how food was produced and consumed.  Each development was also driven by specific assumptions about the meaning of “progress.”

Session 5 Materials:

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"Somebody has to go into farming. Somebody has to do it, it's a good life. It takes a lot of money these days to get going. It is not a get-rich scheme but the lifestyle is great. There gets to be to many people owning to much farm. Doctors and lawyers have the money to buy land and they hire somebody to farm it. We need family farms; more people need to own the land. I guess I would rather see 10 people own a little bit than one person own a lot. We need more voices in agriculture."

The Risdall Family, Roland, Iowa - Story County from People Sustaining the Land, by Cynthia Vagnetti 2002.