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The Edible History Of Humanity Summary

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One thing I enjoyed about the first chapter of, “The Edible History of Humanity,” by Tom Standage is that it provided a description of how the domestication of the three cereal grains, maize, wheat, and rice, has had an effect on both the plants in question and the human race. The act of humans “...deliberately cultivating…” (Standage 2) these grains gave them the ability to settle into permanent communities and farm for most of their food, something which had never been done before and set a precedent followed even today. In turn, the domestication of these plants for easier farming made the plants practically unable to reproduce without the aid of human farmers, “The grains are attached to a central axis known as the rachis. As the wild …show more content…

Of the nine pages in chapter one, six of them are given to maize and how humans have changed it through domestication. This is disappointing because all three grains were instrumental in the development of their respective societies, yet the article only goes into great detail for maize, specifically its progression from …show more content…

By providing a more dependable and plentiful food supply, farming provided the basis for new lifestyles far more complex societies.” I agree with this because, by domesticating these three cereal grains and settling down to farm them, neither the human race or the grains could thrive without the other. Humans could not settle down and prosper without a crop to harvest every year because, without that, they would be forced to return to the nomadic lifestyle. Without developing permanent communities to farm these domesticated crops, society as we know it may have never developed. The grains, in turn, with their selected mutations, would not be able to spread their seed without the help of humans. As explained on page 7, In a small proportion of plants, however, a single genetic mutation means the rachis does not become brittle, even when the seeds ripen. This is called a “tough rachis.” This mutation is undesirable for the plants in question since they are unable to disperse their seeds. But it is very helpful for humans gathering wild grains, who are likely to gather a disproportionate number of tough-rachis mutants as a result.” Because the tough rachis was selected by the harvesters and passed on to later crops, as time passed the plants would no longer be able to reproduce without the interference of human

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