How Did The Human Population Grow In The Late 1800s

Since 1800, the human population has multiplied more than six times. To keep up with the increase in food demands, the output of farms and the productivity of farm lands have also increased. The Green Revolution, The Industrial Revolution, and massive population growth all caused agriculture to change the ways that food was produced. Food production went from a very labor intensive profession to a mostly mechanised industry. Horses were replaced by tractors and farmers planted huge monoculture fields to produce more for sale, and less for the family. The yeoman farmer gradually faded out as the large scale industrial farmers became essential to increased food production. Furthermore, people began eating foods from outside of their local
Especially for workers like cotton pickers. However, owners wanted to make as much money on their goods as quickly as possible. “Global trade, production, and investment were as significant a century ago as they are today.” This led to many employees working in harsh conditions for little pay. “On most farms, living conditions for temporary workers were miserable. Families were crowded into the makeshift shacks that had no screens to keep out swarming insects, and no electricity or running water.” Whole families traveled together following the crops to work as often as they could. However, these working conditions were not just felt by adults, kids were forced to work by their parents who needed help making ends meet, even if they were just a
This allowed farmers to rely on tractors instead of horses and harvesters instead of hand picking. The use of machinery made the need for labor go down significantly since the 1800s. 1.3 million people worked in the agricultural field in 1800. By 1910, that number had risen to 11.8 million. However, as technology increased, the number of workers slowly decreased to 3 million people in 2000. Without the increase in technology, workers needed in agricultural fields would have increased as the total population of the world increased. Some of the major innovations include the tractor and the internal combustion engine, plows, and combines. “A team of two horses was the standard source of motive power for American Farms.” However, horses were slow, required feed, and had to be harnessed every morning. Tractors became a much quicker, more reliable source of labor on the farm than horses. With tractors came new options with what to attach to them. The plow, which used to be drug by horses, could now be done quickly and efficiently by tractors. Tomato grower Augie Scoto plows to a depth of 24 inches at 4.5 miles per hour. Before plows, farmers could not plow that deep and had to use dynamite instead. Another attachment that sped up the process of farming, and specifically harvesting, was the combine. The combine could be attached to large tractors and a hopper could be guided next