Give two examples from history to show the impact of technology on food availability

Population, Affluence, and Technology Now that we’ve covered resilience, let’s return to the question of humans and carrying capacity. There is no doubt that human impacts on our environments are often very strong – frequently strong enough to exceed the systems’ resilience. Here, we’re going to explore the relationship between human population, resource consumption, and the impact on ecosystems. The IPAT Equation: I = P x A x T A classic attempt to explain the relationship between a human population and its impact on the environment is the IPAT equation. The equation maintains that impacts on ecosystems (I) are the product of the population size (P), affluence (A), and technology (T) of the human population in question. This equation was developed by biologist Paul Ehrlich and environmental scientist John Holdren in 1971, and you might notice that the concept is very similar to the notion of carrying capacity presented earlier in this module. It is elegant in its simplicity, and compelling because it presents such an intuitive narrative. But intuitive narratives are not always the best explanation for complex problems. Remember the caution about carrying capacity: does it really apply to human populations? Reading Assignment: "Too Many People, Too Much Consumption" To gain a more detailed understanding of the arguments supporting the IPAT equation, please read the article: The Ehrlichs are among those who initially developed the equation and remain strong supporters of it...

The first molecular and cellular tools of modern biotechnology emerged in the 1960s and ’70s. A fledgling “biotech” biotechnology, the use of History of biotechnology People have been harnessing biological processes to improve their biotechnology, a term first widely applied to the molecular and cellular technologies that began to emerge in the 1960s and ’70s. A fledgling “biotech” For more than a decade, the biotechnology industry was dominated by production cells—such as yeast, Diamond v. Chakrabarty, resolved the matter by ruling that “a live human-made microorganism is patentable subject matter.” This decision spawned a wave of new biotechnology firms and the infant industry’s first investment boom. In 1982 recombinant Approaches and tools In the early years, the main achievement of biotechnology was the ability to produce naturally occurring therapeutic molecules in larger quantities than could be derived from conventional sources such as

The impact of technology on food availability was manifold in the late nineteenth century. Faster railways, lighter wagons and larger ships helped transport food more cheaply and quickly from production units to even faraway markets. Also, refrigerated ships helped transport perishable foods such as meat, butter and eggs over long distances. For more answers visit to website:

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