The Food Chronology By James Trager

It is said that farming is "the worst mistake in the history of the human race."(2). In An Edible History of Humanity, chapter two, Tom Standage explained the reasoning behind this statement. The explanation is, farming took longer, created health issues and changed the structure of our bodies.

Michal Siewierski truly has had a remarkable filmmaking career. This prestigious individual has won more than several Telly’s and is a recipient of multiple Emmy Awards nominations. In addition, living as a director, documentary filmmaker, and TV producer, Mr. Siewierski has contributed to a wide range of projects. Most recently, Michael has decided to dwell into the world of filmmaking and embark on a journey to debut his first feature documentary specifically entitled to Food Choices. In this film, it unravels the variety of impacts on how the food we eat affects the human body, environment, and the lives of other living species. Furthermore, it follows Micha’s three-year long journey of interviewing and questioning over 30 top experts around

An Edible History of Humanity is a book written by Tom Standage. It was first published on in 2009 by Walker & Co in the English language. The book is divided into six parts covering twelve chapters. It talks about the civilization of man from Old Stone Age during hunting and gathering all the way to present-day day. In this book, Standage describes how the development of food production has contributed to the civilization of humans (Standage, 113). He also outlines the role of food in the existence of humankind. The main theme in this text surrounds’ the history of man painting food as the tool in industrial evolution, civilization and how it impacts wars, as well as ecological competition. Standage concludes that food is the key cause of

Standage, Tom. An Edible History of Humanity. (Ed) New York: Walker and Company, 2010, Print.

The conquistadors eventually used potatoes as rations on their ships and took it back to Spain (Chapman, n.d.). From there, the potato spread to other countries. Unfortunately, the potato was “regarded with suspicion, distaste and fear.” (Chapman, n.d.) Only animals were fed the potatoes at first but as time went on, the aristocracy of Europe began to encourage the lower classes to begin cultivating potatoes. Potatoes, however, did not become a staple until roughly 1795 and the food shortages that came during the time of the Revolutionary Wars in England. (Chapman, n.d.)

People’s ability to assess certain courses of action brings about two distinct paths: it either hinders the person’s ability to gauge their surroundings or it enables them to see and act based on a completely new perspective. It is our seemingly competent nature, as generalists, that has led to the rise of the phenomenon known as the “national eating disorder.” Skewing food culture and trend patterns, we have come to trust in our natural aptitude for survival as a way to pave our way through sustaining nourishment while coming into terms with the opportunity costs that accompany all of our decisions. There is something about food that grabs people; it is the individual tastes and textures, the unique stories of each and every ingredient that is used to make food, and the smell of spices that brings familiarity that

In the 16th century, the Spanish Conquistadors brought the Potato back with them to Spain after their voyage to South America. In Spain it grew slowly in popularity and it was not long before the Potato made its way across Europe. Europeans also gradually gained acceptance of the Potato plant, as it was a good source of food and growing the plant was relatively low maintenance.

The doctors stated that the potato was inside of the woman's vagina for at least two weeks. She went to the doctor when she started to experience pain. They found that the potato had started to germinate and grow roots. They could actually see the roots of the potato coming from the woman's orifice. The doctors could not believe it.

The potato could be served baked, boiled, roasted, fried or made into soups, pancakes, dumplings, souffles, pies and even bread! The potato adapted easily to the cool and damp climates of Ireland, Germany, Poland, Russia, Scotland, England, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Scandinavia. And now approximately 3,000 different types of potatoes are grown in America today! In fact, the potato affected Ireland so much that the population expanded from 3.2 million in 1754 to 8.2 million less than a century later. Now China has become the largest sweet potato producer ever, the potato went national faster than Justin

1719 – Potatoes appeared in United States. They were brought by the Governor of Bermuda, Nathaniel Butler include cedar chest and other vegetables to Governor Francis Wyatt of Virginia at Jamestown. Later on, these tubers were cultivated around the country.

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.

While numerous sources debate if growing potatoes on Mars using the methods Watney executed, these source miss the symbolic realism and meaning behind using potatoes in the movie. For example, Watney finds the potatoes in a box labeled strictly intended for research use, which ties to the emphasis on current potato research in space. Watney does not know if growing potatoes is a feasible way of survival, and therefore must use science and his background in botany to make the potatoes grow. Watney realistically designs and carriers out a scientific experiment in a process that actual scientist will explore the possibilities of growing potatoes on Mars. Furthermore, Chinese scientists willingly fund the research and development to help the United States send a space probe filled with food to Watney. This connection strikes as a realistic reference to when the first potatoes intended for space were developed. The Chinese developed the basis for the first space potatoes, and the United States further advanced the Chinese potatoes in order to send the potatoes into space. Similarly, the United States first started to develop the food space probe, and the Chinese further aided in development to successfully rescue Watney from Mars. Both of these instances provide a significant value of realism to the potatoes shown on

Sweetness, beauty, intoxication, and control. These are the four topics of desire that Michael Pollan talks about within his memoirs in The Botany of Desire. All four desires are told through powerful euphemisms in relation to plants that we have come to know as domesticated. In regards to our modern relationship with plants, the apple, tulip, marijuana, and potato are perhaps some of our most treasured allies. This could not be truer than that relationship in which we have with the potato. That relationship has lasted for thousands of years, and its genetic makeup has been the conversation of many farmers around the world. The potatoes birthplace with the Incans proved to be a time of high biodiversity with thousands of varieties. However, through the act of monoculture with Europeans, and a need to feed a growing population, the potato has experienced a decrease in the amount of varieties that are cultivated.

The introduction of the sweet potato had effects on the Chinese environment. 2 The sweet potato was introduced to China from the Philippines by ships that were crossing the Atlantic, around the 1580s. The sweet potato likely came from the Central or South Americas. It was also monocropped by the Chinese. The sweet potato came to China in a very important time. At the time, China had a fourth of the world’s population. They needed to feed these people on a twelfth of the world’s farmable

Cooking is a vital, overlooked component necessary to accomplish every human’s basic fundamental needs to survive and reproduce. According to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, food is one of the factors that constructs the base of the pyramid’s physiological section (Myers 330). This section cannot be considered without its fundamental component, the act of cooking. Not only is this act executed in most human individuals’ everyday lifestyle, but has also increased their fitness in the course of time. In Catching Fire: How Cooking Made Us Humans by Richard Wrangham, Wrangham similar idea convinces me. Wrangham declares that it was fire and cooking that led to new crucial physical traits developed in humans. Whether fire was created as a