An Edible History of Humanity - Tom Standage

In class, November 22, we discussed Tom Standage’s report, An Edible History of Humanity. In the reading, Standage introduces the invention of ammonia on the industrial scale and research on crossbreeding of crops to help increase the crop yield. These innovations significantly helped reduce world problems such as starvation and malnutrition, which serve the first Millennium Developmental Goal. With a continuation of research and development in the agricultural industry, we could alleviate greater numbers of people starving and malnutrition. Some of the questions posed in class pertained to how India has adopted the new agricultural method years ago but why are so many people in India starving of hunger? Also how the heavy usage of fertilizers is contaminating rivers and streams with chemicals, how can people fix this problem?