The changed lifeways of the Neolithic revolution included the domestication of p

Question

The changed lifeways of the Neolithic revolution included the domestication of plants and animals as well as settlement into villages. How did these cultural transformations both solve the challenges of existence while creating new challenges for humans of the past and today?

Do you think that agriculture is the “worst mistake” in history as Jared Diamond (1987) argues? Is it possible to make changes to agriculture/domestication practices that are more environmentally sustainable? Or, have we reached the point of no return?

Explanation / Answer

The cultural transformation is effective in solving the challenges of new world. Yes, the domestication of plants and animals has always made a balance between the flora and fauna as they are interdependent on each other. Earlier, the clearance of land for the purpose of doing agricultural practice was done in order to meet the feeding habits of the population and while at the same time, domestication of animals was also carried out simultaneously. Reason being, the fodder obtained from the plant can be used as a food source for the animals and this will cause the reduction in the plant waste diposal. Otherwise, plant waste would cause air pollution due to their burning or the land pollution by it's inappropriate disposal. Another reason being, the waste of domesticated animals is highly enrich in organic matter which will replenish the mineral content of the soil where the agriculatral practice is being taken up. The above described instance clearly shows the practice of natural farming/ ariculture, where a farmer do not employ the use of fertilizer but rather depends upon the natural manure prepared from biodegradable waste suh as cow's uring and cow dung.

This is quite diplomatic to say that agriculture is the worst mistake in the history. If it wouldn't have happened then it would have been an impossible task to feed the ever growing population of the world. Due to advent of urbanization and rise in population, the lands under agriculture are cleared off in order to meet the growing needs. According to this, agriculture cannot be regarded as the worst mistake.

Yes, it is certainly possible to make changes and perform the agriculture practices more sustainably. Yhis can be done in the following ways:

1. WASTE ELIMINATION- Throwing away of waste is not feasible that would otherwise cause the land pollution. So, garbage should be examined so that what else could be done with the same thing. Practice the concept of 3R's; Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.

2. FARM DIVERSITY- Crop roration, mixed cropping and green manures should be encouraged to be adopted. By using the hydrid and high yielding varieties.

3. URBAN AGRICULTURE- Shifting the agriculture practices near to the periphery of the urban areas would meet the demands of the population as most of the global population have shifted to the cities and this will also save the transportation timings.

4. PEST MANAGEMENT- Allowing the growth of those insects population which are beneficial. This includes, lady bugs, lecaewing, etc. which will act as the predators for crop-eating insects.

5. AGROFORESTRY- This involves the growth of trees and shrubs along with the crops and land left for grazing. this practice will be long-lasting, prodctive and gives diversity to the flora.

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