With 10X increases in yields per acre, I expected to see some really dramatic yield improvements over time. Some countries did have great improvements. However, from 1961 to 2022 United states only improved production by 151%. Basically what I see is that well established countries had modest improvements, but no where near 10x.
Our diet consists of a lot more than grains. I'm sure the improvements helped, yes they made a difference. I am not convinced we'd be in serious trouble without them.
Ideally, yes, but there's a reason they're called staples. It's very easy to have a diet where most of the _calories_ if not actual volume nor mass of food comes from grain. Grains and fats are very calorie dense, but grains are far cheaper than butter or steak. Many civilizations have been based on a huge portion of food being tortillas, rice, bread, pasta. Grains are important. Whether they should be as big a part of your diet for health reasons is another question, but their historical importance due to calorie density is not in question and is self evident.
With 10X increases in yields per acre, I expected to see some really dramatic yield improvements over time. Some countries did have great improvements. However, from 1961 to 2022 United states only improved production by 151%. Basically what I see is that well established countries had modest improvements, but no where near 10x.
To check my time line, I noted from the following that the Green Revolution started in the late 60's. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Revolution
Our diet consists of a lot more than grains. I'm sure the improvements helped, yes they made a difference. I am not convinced we'd be in serious trouble without them.