The Role of Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries in Human Nutrition - Volume I

The Role of Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries in Human Nutrition is a component of Encyclopedia of Food and Agricultural Sciences, Engineering and Technology Resources in the global Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS), which is an integrated compendium of twenty one Encyclopedias. 

Human health and wellbeing depend strongly on production, quality, and availability of food. Agriculture, or cultivation of the soil, harvesting crops, and raising livestock, which are the main sources of food, has no single origin. At different times and in numerous places, many plants and animals have been domesticated to provide food for humankind. Fishing, like farming, is a form of primary food production. Through food gathering, primitive humans first obtained fish and other aquatic products in the shallow waters of lakes and along the seashore, in areas with ebb tides, and in small streams. The breadth and complexity of the subject matter presented here is vast. This volume traces the extraordinary history of human colonization of the habitable world and is a chronicle of humankind’s early communion with the underlying realities of the earth’s physical environment, the eventual destruction of this harmonious relationship, and efforts to repair the damage.

To make it easier for the reader the volume is divided into 7 sections

Food and agriculture and the use of natural resources examines the relationship between food production and the resource base and demonstrate how humans have adapted and exploited Nature to feed the burgeoning populations of humans and their domestic animals.

History of forestry from ancient times to the present day is analyzed and shows the linkage between forest clearance for agriculture and the rise of human populations, and current global environmental issues.

History of Fishing is a saga explained that spans the full range from traditional fishing for subsistence through to the evolution of modern factory fishing fleets

Impact of global change on agriculture outlines the impact of climate change, human demographic trends and the sustainability issues that arise.

Economics and policy of food production analyzes the global trade in foodstuffs and the regional specializations and land use complexities.

Fundamentals of human health and nutrition explains the complexities of providing a balanced and safe diet for humans throughout their life cycle from birth to old age. It explores some of the linkages between human health and the quality and quantity of food provided.

Human nutrition: an overview provides, a wide ranging summary of the issues and imperatives associated with providing humans with food of a quality and standard that will ensure healthy lives.

In the history of human development from the time of the earliest agricultural activities humans have cleared the natural forests and woodlands to obtain building materials and fuel wood, and to provide lands for domestic animals and crops. It is this aspect that is the main focus of the volume. The authors in this volume have analyzed and reviewed the interactions between the utilization of natural resources and human nutrition. Much attention focuses on the specific contribution by agriculture (including livestock husbandry), forestry and fisheries in meeting human needs. This synoptic overview assesses the pattern of past change in the relationship between humans and the resource base on which their lives depend. Lessons learned, or still to be learned, are teased out and elaborated.

The vast breadth of the subject matter covered in this volume has meant that the work has benefited from the input of many individual contributors from vastly different parts of the globe. I am grateful to the contributors and reviewers for their time and effort and the exchange of ideas and the learning experience that I obtained by working with such a diverse and learned group. We all owe a debt of gratitude to the vast "invisible college" of colleagues whose publications that have shed light on some of the most pertinent problems facing humankind today. These four volumes are aimed at the following five major target audiences: University and College students Educators, Professional practitioners, Research personnel and Policy analysts, managers, and decision makers and NGOs.