Neocaloric Era from Early Farming to Modern Agriculture - Essay Example

Title: Neocaloric Era- From Early Farming to Modern Agriculture Name Course Tutor Date Introduction This essay provides a critical discussion of the meaning and definition of the term “neocaloric era”. It then presents in detail the changes that have occurred in the transition ever since the early farming days to the era characterized by modern agriculture from a neocaloric perspective. The paper explains the historical changes which have taken place since the beginnings of the origins of agriculture to the modern day farming. It is a critical discussion of the gradual historical evolution of agriculture from the neocaloric point of view. The Definition of “Neocaloric” The term neocaloric was first defined by Schusky (1989), to mean a particular period in time that was marked by a major shift in agriculture when food that was produced was based entirely on the “old calories”. According to Schusky (1989), neocaloric period was marked with a massive increase in the rate of economic productivity in agriculture and an equally similar increase in the amounts of energy that was consumed in the agricultural activities. There was a radical shift in the way agriculture was being practiced, right from primitive ways of agriculture to large scale domestication of both plants and animals. In Mc Isaac & Edwards (1994, p. 42), the authors point out that Schusky felt that the neocaloric period began in the 1830’s, even though another scholar by the name John Deere was of the view that it was not until the end of the nineteenth century that then we can say that the neocaloric period was completely born. According to Schusky, energy has to be consumed in any processes that involve the production of food (Weisdorf, 2005). In this case, the Neocaloric era was characterized by a vast replacement of the human energy in the production of food by non-human energy (Weisdorf, 2005). This means that fossil fuels replaced human energy for purposes of more productivity and efficiency. However, this era is discussed in detail later. From Early Farming to Modern Agriculture This essay provides a clear discourse that gives the historical evolution of agriculture and the changes that have occurred in the transition from early farming of the very olden days to modern agriculture. According to (Kirschennmann, 2012) agriculture in the very olden days was majorly characterized by hunting and gathering. This is the infamous Palaeolithic period. For most of the years in the past, men and women were mostly hunters and gatherers, hunting for animals and collecting roots and leaves from the wild, a lifestyle that was typically referred to as foraging (Martin & Wadley, 1993, p. 96). The Palaeolithic period had its own unique characteristics in farming. Some tools were discovered such as the flint points and axes. Also, there were particular bows, spears and arrows (Martin & Wadley, 1993) which were predominantly used in for the hunting down of animals. Then there was also the invention of the wheel during this period which was a major tool for the transportation of various commodities (Kirschennmann, 2012). From Schusky’s perspective, hunting and gathering was a very effective way for people to feed themselves since it did not consume a lot of energy. Moreover, no energy was needed whatsoever, for any activity associated with the production and transportation of food. What followed the period of hunting and gathering was early invention of agriculture, which has been approximated to be around ten thousand years ago (Kirschennmann, 2012, p. 5). From the neocaloric point of view, the processes of food production adopted during this period consumed a lot more energy than before. Hence forth, they became much less energy efficient since they used both animal and human energy to produce food. However, they had their other advantages despite consuming more energy (Kirschennmann, 2012, p. 5). The adoption of these various methods of practising agriculture is what ushered in an era famously known as the “Neolithic Period”. Accordingly, the Neolithic period represented a time when people began to shift from the lifestyle of hunting and gathering to practising a more civilized way of farming and cultivation (Weisdorf, 2005). Harlan, one of the great scholars in ecology, posed the question, “why farm”? (Weisdorf, 2005, p. 562) Many reasons have been given as to why men had to shift from hunting and gathering to farming. Smith (1975), as cited in Weisdorf (2005, p. 561), suggested that there was extinction of the large herds of animals that existed for hunting and that is why man had to adopt agriculture. Yet in another article by North & Thomas (1977), as cited in Weisdorf, (2005), the authors assert that man had to shift to farming due to population pressure brought about by the growing number of people. The invention of agriculture was a series of discoveries that came in as a means of adopting to the changing course of nature. According to the neocaloric perspective, Schusky (1989) suggests that human beings chose the domestication of plants and animals despite the fact that they consumed a lot more energy for various reasons. The first is that domestication was greatly concerned with solar energy as compared to hunting and gathering which consumed a lot of human energy (Kirschennmann, 2012).the second argument is that it occurred to man that there were more benefits accruing to domestication rather than the tiresome process of hunting and gathering. For instance, domestication ensured adequate and continuous supply of food despite the fact that people employed more energy in producing this food (Kirschennmann, 2012, p. 6). Moreover, there are also suggestions that particular environmental factors and genetic changes in some animals which made them suitable for domestication paved way for the emergence and growth of agriculture (Weisdorf, 2005, p. 562). But according to Darwin (1868), as cited in Weisdorf, (2005, p. 565) he stated that agriculture was just a simple practice which was waiting to be discovered. He supported the prevalent theory. In quoting him, “…the savage inhabitants of each land, having found out by many and hard trials what plants were useful,….would after a time take the first step to in cultivation by planting them near their usual abodes”. Weisdorf (2005, p. 561), contends that the Neolithic period was a very important period in the history of human culture. This is because it is a period when food production appeared and subsequently spread from one region to another. Men began to practice the domestication of plants and animals. They started to fully embrace the benefits and gains of cultivating plants and domesticating animals thus immediately adopting farming (Weisdorf, 2005, p. 562). Even though there is adequate evidence indicating the exact period when the Neolithic period set in, a lot of debate still exists as to why man actually decided to settle for farming, at a time when it proved to be very tiring, burdensome and time-consuming (Weisdorf, 2005). The changes that marked this transition included a settled way of life. In this manner, people were no longer roaming around in the forests either to hunt for animals or to gather for fruits and roots. Instead, they settled down and focused on the cultivation of crops and the domestication of animals. The size of the population grew and people started to live in small units in enclosed huts and compounds. According to (Robson, 2010, p. 282), the growth in farming led to population growth from a percentage of zero, right before the transition to 1% (is this figure correct – it doesn’t seem like such a big change???- it was the figure given in the article) just after the major shift occurred. According to Martin & Wadley (1993), farming was predominantly based on cereals such as wheat and barley. From the noecaloric point of view, here it brings out the implication that not a lot of energy was consumed during the farming and hence less energy was utilized. Notably, almost all of the entire early farming relied on cereal agriculture (Martin & Wadley, 1993, p. 98). Later on, there also grew the cultivation of trees, vegetables and then the other crops such as maize and potatoes followed. In the first half of the 20th century, farming then spread to areas like Mesopotamia (Weisdorf, 2005, p. 561). Farming and agriculture during this era was characterized by major advances in technology. For instance, there was the discovery of new varieties of plants. These discoveries led to the production of surplus food, which inevitably had to culminate into increased number of people hence high populations (Weisdorf, 2005). More so, the era was also characterized by primitive humans becoming more organized and grouping themselves into fishing, hunting and gathering societies (Mc Isaacs & Edwards, 1994). It has also been presented with no doubt, that the greatest horticulturalists were the Neolithic people. They grew lots of flowers and other crops (Weisdorf, 2005). In short, there was a major shift in the economic strategies by the populations as well as in their subsistence economy as indicated from evidence (Hershkovitz & Gopher, 2008, p. 453). The major changes that occurred in between the transition period of the Palaeolithic and the Neolithic eras included a drastic change from intensive involvement in hunting and gathering also known as foraging, to the subsistence practice of domesticating plants like wheat barley and lentils (Hershkovitz & Gopher, 2008). Later on, it was also characterized by the domestication of animals including sheep, pigs, goats and cows (Hershkovitz & Gopher, 2008, p. 454). Moving on from the Neolithic period is now the neocaloric era as identified by Schusky (1989). This also marked a very significant period in human history. As described by Kirschennmann, 2012, it was a new era of agriculture which emerged at around 1930. It was described by Schusky as being enteirely based on “old calories” (1989). The major source of energy utilized here is fossil fuels. In this case, it is the energy from fossil fuels that now replaces human energy in all processes of food production. But from the perspective of enrgy efficiency, it is described as the least effective mode of food system that the human population has ever had (Kirschennmann, 2012, p. 6). The changes occuring in farming during this era are wide and varied. The period is characterized by an industrial revolution which sees the emergence of more and more industries in the food production sector. Apparently, these industries use a lot of fossil fuel energy as compared to that which could have been consumed by human beings (Kirschennmann, 2012). To support this hypothesis, Schusky cites one example, that it takes “…about 2200 calories of fossil energy in order to produce a one-calorie can of diet soda” which he later on strongly asserts that it is “ downright abuse to human intelligence” (Schusky, 1989). However, Kirschennmann, (2012, p. 6) suggests that the emergence of industries to replace human energy in the production of food is a lot more advantageous that its losses cannot be counted. The results in the food production industries are short-term, almost immediate and give maximum results. In the 1930’s the industrial revolution was charcterized by farmers and agriculturalists adopting various industrial principles and applying them in their farming techniques (Kirschennmann, 2012, p. 6). Notably, the neocarolic era marked a significant growth in the economy of the world as the technlogy remarkably transformed the food production and the farming systems (Kirschennmann, 2012). Unlike in the Neolithic era where the production of food and farming activities were mostly based on human energy, the Neocaloric revlolution has been charaterized by more involvement of non-human energy in food production processes (Robbins, 2010, p. 181). Moreover, there is also increased livestock rearing and an increased ratio of calories in crop production (Robbins 2010, p. 183). There was also the emergence of the free market economy as developed by Adam Smith. Accordingly, Adam Smith was of the view that the market should be a free place, providing for competitive advantage and free trade (Weisdorf, 2005). Therefore, most farmers sought to use machines to get more produce in order to benefit from the market place by gaining more profits (Kirschennmann, 2012, p. 7). This way, they would expand their wealth and become more prosperous. There were also changes in the farming systems in that, farmers became largely depended upon as the suppliers of raw materials for the industries. In this sense, they had to produce as much raw materials as possible in such a short period of time as it had become the basis upon which the receivers of the materials measured their efficiency (Kirschennmann, 2012, p. 7). This indicated that every farmer was praised according to the highest yields produced, which compelled them to channel more energy into the production of more raw materials. This is what explained the increased reliance on the use of industrial machines in the neocaloric era (Kirschennmann, 2012, p.7). The era was also recognized by intensive use of new farming machinery. As a result, this revolution had a dramatic impact on the current nature of farming. It also saw the introduction of chemical fertilizers which increased the yields of the farmers and pesticides which helped in fighting and in the elimination of crop diseases (Mc Isaacs & Edwards, 1994, p. 43). In addition, information on agricultural knowledge was no longer individual neither was it obtained from informal sources like before. The neocaloric era saw an expansion in research and academic endeavours aimed at gathering more evidence on farming related issues (Mc Isaacs & Edwards, 1994, p. 43). From Schusky’s perspective the fact is people were relying more on the use of fossil fuels and there was a massive increase in the production of crops and foods. Many subsistence farmers were using input labour such as hoes and machetes. The contemporary large scale farmer on the other hand, used larger machines like the tractors for ploughing and the combined harvesters for harvesting their crops (Weisdorf, 2005). Moreover, almost all farmers are using machinery, pesticides and fertilizers on their crops. The production of this artificial pesticides and fertilizers utilizes more energy as would have been compared to the human production of natural manure. Therefore, the reliance on fossil fuels consumes a lot more energy but it returns very high results. Schusky, however, translates this to mean that the agricultural sector is becoming less and less efficient since more calories are required to be used just to produce a small portion of food with the use of more sophisticated machines as compared with human energy (Mc Isaacs & Edwards, 1994, p. 43). He also notes that people also employ more animal energy as compared to before which is not a positive thing to note (Mc Isaacs & Edwards, 1994, p. 44). Notably, the cost of production in farming has lowered due to the efficiency of the machines. Lastly, the modern day agriculture and modes of farming are characterized by what is referred to as the Green Revolution. The Green Revolution, according to much of the research emerged in the 1970’s. This has come with even more intensive technologies and high-yielding varieties (Robbins, 2010). Apparently, there is higher productivity in farming and agricultural processes. This is because many farmers have now the capacity to utilize more efficient fertilizers and pesticides. Additionally, there is more availability of water and more energy inputs by the use of even more sophisticated machines (Robbins, 2010). However, modern agriculture and farming is very labour and energy intensive. The basic farming and agricultural practices of the green revolution include a continued expansion and enlargement of the farming areas (Robbins, 2010). Many areas have been cleared and farmers are now acquiring large tracts of land for large scale farming. New methods of farming have also been adopted such as double cropping and mixed farming (Robbins, 2010). This has allowed for maximum utilization of the land. In addition, technology has been noted as regards seedlings and farmers are now using genetically improved seeds. This ensures the return of high yields and more crop production (Kirschennmann, 2012, p. 8). It is also worth noting that other farming methods that have been introduced with the era of the green revolution include the building of dams and the adoption of irrigation techniques (Robbins, 2010). This has ensured that water supply is available throughout the year which has really increased the yields of the farmers. On the other hand, there are also problems noted with the green revolution. For instance, critics say that the modern farming techniques and agricultural products have led to environmental degradation (Kirschennmann, 2012). In this regard, it has adversely impacted on the environment because of the increased use of agrochemicals and artificial pesticides. The continued use of these fertilizers and pesticides also causes saline conditions of the soil. They have also posed a lot of danger to human health as well (Kirschennmann, 2012). Conclusion This essay provides a critical discussion of the meaning and definition of the term “neocaloric era” and discussed in detail the changes that have occurred in the transition ever since the early farming days to the era of modern agriculture from a neocaloric perspective. The term neocaloric was first defined by Schusky (1989), to mean a particular period in time that was marked by a major shift in agriculture when food that was produced was based entirely on the “old calories”. It implies the common belief according to Schusky, energy has to be consumed in any processes that involve the production of food (Weisdorf, 2005). The historical evolution of agriculture started with the Palaeolithic period characterized by hunting and gathering. It then shifted to the Neolithic period which saw a shift from hunting and gathering to the domestication of plants and animals. These changes have had implications on the way energy is consumed as described by Schusky. Next to emerge was the Neocaloric era. It was described by Schusky as being enteirely based on “old calories”. The major source of energy utilized here were the fossil fuels. In this case, it is the energy from fossil fuels that now replaced human energy in all processes of food production. It was characterized by intensive technologies, wide use of machinery but more consumption of energy. Finally this essay considers the green revolution. This is the current state of agriculture characterized by a much higher productivity and more efficient fertilizers and pesticides. Even then, it still has its own shortcomings such as environmental degradation and that it causes salinity to the soil. However, it has been characterized by major changes in farming and agricultural practices. In a nutshell, the neocaloric perspective of all these developments is that in one way or another, energy has to be utilized in the processes of food production. References Hershkovitz I, &Gopher A., (2008). Demographic, Biological and Cultural Aspects of the Neolithic Revolution: A View from the Southern Levant. Springer Science+Business Media B.V. pp. 441-453. Kirschenmann, F,. (2012). Meeting the Agricultural Challenges of the 21st Century with a Little Help from Liberty Hyde Bailey. History Society Conference, June 23, 2007. Retrieved from http://www.leopold.iastate.edu/sites/default/files/pubs-and- papers/2007-06-meeting-agricultural-challenges-21st-century-little-help-liberty-hyde- bailey.pdf Martin, A., & Wadley, G. (2000). The origins of agriculture - a biological perspective and a new hypothesis. Journal of the Australasian College of Nutritional and Environmental Medicine, 19, 1, 3. Pp. 96-105. Retrieved from http://www.ranprieur.com/readings/ origins.html McIsaac, G., & Edwards, W. R. (1994). Sustainable agriculture in the American Midwest: Lessons from the past, prospects for the future. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. Robbins, R. H. (2010). 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