Physics and Technology – Technology – Food Technology
Food technology is important as only a few natural products are used for direct human consumption.
A wide range of technological applications are used to process most agricultural commodities. Food technology also plays an important role in food conservation.
Physics and Technology – Technology – Agriculture
Agriculture has undergone tremendous development from its beginnings to the present day. Farms range in size from small self-subsistence operations to large, highly developed companies with massive machinery.
Agriculture has played a decisive role in human history. When people began to domesticate animals and plant crops, they became sedentary. Hunter-gatherers became farmers. The systematic breeding of farm animals and cultivation of crops made it possible to feed more people-not just the farmers. Other occupations developed, along with a system for the division of labor.
This development formed the basis for the beginning of our civilization. Still, to this day, securing our food supply remains a very important task. About a third of working people worldwide are involved in agriculture
Chemical fertilizers
As they grow, plants remove nutrients from the soil. Chemical fertilizers provide a method for adjusting the nutrient imbalance in the fields. Before fertilizers were available, fields used on an ongoing basis had to be cultivated according to a crop- rotation cycle, including a fallow period. In fact, crop rotation has been a feature of agricultural management in Europe since the Middle Ages.
Fields are sown in a three-year cycle, usually starting with winter grain, then summer grain, followed by a fallow year. Crop rotation is beneficial because it avoids the buildup of pathogens and pests that often occurs when one species is continuously cropped. With chemical fertilizers, crop rotation is no longer necessary-a development that led to monocultural production in many places (that is, the same types of plants were cultivated for many years).
This has had negative effects on the environment and reduced biodiversity.
Green revolution
Since the early 1960s, the use of chemical fertilizers and plant treatment agents (for controlling weeds and pests) has resulted in an enormous increase in production per area cultivated, effectively transforming agriculture. Efforts to use modern agricultural technology to secure a food supply over the long term for fast growing populations, particularly in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, received solid political support.
This international commitment became known as the “green revolution.” The fear that the Earth could no longer supply its inhabitants with food at some point seemed to disappear. In America, increased agricultural production meant that by the end of the 20th century, a single agricultural worker could feed 130 people. Just a century earlier this ratio was only 1 to 2.5.
However, critics of the green revolution point out the increased use of pesticides and decreased biodiversity as causes of concern.
ECOLOGICAL AGRICULTURE
Pesticides, chemical fertilizers, growth stimulants, and genetic engineering are avoided in ecological agriculture. Production methods are environmentally sound and emphasize ecological aspects and the protection of the environment.
In many countries, foods labeled as organic must meet strict legal requirements. In the U.S., the EU, and Japan, farms that use ecological methods must be licensed and monitored regularly.