#10: What caused the world population to explode in the 1800s?
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Recently, and I mean really recently, like 200 years recently, the human population exploded. It usually happens whenever we, as a species, are feeling particularly brilliant.
The last time this happened was approximately when we first started growing food, around 12,000 years ago.
This time, we have better nutrition and medicine, so our numbers have been skyrocketing since about the Industrial Revolution.
How did the Industrial Revolution change food?
Before the Industrial Revolution, most people lived in rural areas and ate mostly mostly grains and vegetables, with some meat and dairy. This diet was often lacking in nutrients and variety and people died from eating sh*tty food.
During the Industrial Revolution, humanity upped its transportation infrastructure. Improvements such as canals, roads, and railroads made it easier to transport food from one place to another, so more people had access to a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables, many of which were previously only available seasonally.
Should we help other nations industrialize?
Now, this does bring into the question of the consequences of globalizing the food industry. It’s a complicated issue, so we’ll have to speak on that in another post.
For now, I don’t think it’s crazy to think the best course forward is to bring other countries through the industrial process like Europe did through the 1500s.
In my parents home, Haiti, many rural communities are isolated and do not have access to good roads. This makes it difficult for them to get the fruit/veggie variety that helped Europe so much.
Similar situations can be found in other countries: many countries in Central America and the Caribbean are made up of small islands, which can make it difficult to transport goods between islands and to the mainland. And isolated communities are commonly found in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Transportation really is a difference maker.
