When compared to all other life on Earth, humans have only been around a little while. And compared to how long humans have existed, we have only lived in large societies for an even shorter period. One thing that made it much easier to develop large cities was the discovery and creation of agriculture and farming. Today, farming is much more important than feeding the masses. It is a huge component in the global economy, and may pave the way to a cleaner, greener future, in this article, I'll talk about various aspects of farming, and why they are important.
The first and most obvious reason is that farming provides food. But not just for a small group of people. Farms all over the world exist to provide food for people all over the world. Japanese eat sugar grown in Australia. Asians eat rice grown in America. Europeans eat bananas grown in south America. Without large scale farming with an international end user in mind, the global economy would quickly collapse. The United Kingdom has consumed more food that it has produced for hundreds of year, and remains one of the most prosperous nations on Earth.
The second reason farming is so important is with the development of bio fuels. As the world's oil supply begins to decrease, we obviously need to find another source of energy to run our societies. Ethanol, a form of fuel made from corn and other grains, may be the answer. Large scale farming may save us from ecological disaster as well, as corn based ethanol may significantly reduce carbon emissions.
Another important aspect of farming is research and development. Many believe that with a certain size of dirt, there's so much food you can grow. But as the world's population continues to grow, innovative farmers are finding more efficient ways to increase the yield from the same land. Over the past hundred years, the yield per acre has increased significantly, as farming technology has increased to support a fast growing population.
Farming also allows small countries to participate in the global economy, even if they only can produce one or two crops. For example, if a small country can only produce sugar cane, they are doomed to only eating their own crop. They simply sell their crop to the world, and then use the money to buy whatever foods and goods they need. With farming in a global market, any country can prosper.
To be sure, farming is a simple, yet incredibly important aspect of the world's economy. It helps countries to become wealthy, feeds people, and may help us rid our dependence on fossil fuels.