History of Biology – Lecture 7: Agriculture and medicine
21-03-18
First botanical description of the tomato:
- They were called the ‘love apple’ or ‘golden apple’ as tomatoes were often
yellow. References to golden apples in Greek mythology and associated with
bible stories.
18th c. First recipes of tomatoes in cook books distribution to Europe.
Ketchup bottle:
First mechanism to conserve tomatoes for a long time.
Ketchup was made to ‘resemble’ ketjap from Indonesia.
Also, tomato soup was one of the first mechanisms to conserve tomatoes (and other
food) for a long time.
Food industry: canning:
Before Pasteur canning began, food was preserved in glass, cooked and sealed.
Began with Nicholas Appert (ca. 1810) a French chef.
Agriculture and growth (18th and 19th century):
Explosive growth:
- Better methods
- Larger scale
- Mechanization
- New crops
Further improvements for cultivation:
Phytopathology led to new measures, e.g. sterilization of greenhouse soil: steamed
in the winter.
Also, mechanization of agriculture continued.
The rationalization of agriculture:
Mass production, for export.
Agriculture increasingly came to resemble a laboratory:
Simplification of natural processes with controllable factors.
A small and controversial movement argues for ‘permaculture’: no ploughing, little
weeding, no standardization, control with ecological means.
Contraception and morality:
Even after WWII, contraception was considered taboo.
There was barely any research, contraception was available sneaky.
Result (without contraception) large families!
21-03-18
First botanical description of the tomato:
- They were called the ‘love apple’ or ‘golden apple’ as tomatoes were often
yellow. References to golden apples in Greek mythology and associated with
bible stories.
18th c. First recipes of tomatoes in cook books distribution to Europe.
Ketchup bottle:
First mechanism to conserve tomatoes for a long time.
Ketchup was made to ‘resemble’ ketjap from Indonesia.
Also, tomato soup was one of the first mechanisms to conserve tomatoes (and other
food) for a long time.
Food industry: canning:
Before Pasteur canning began, food was preserved in glass, cooked and sealed.
Began with Nicholas Appert (ca. 1810) a French chef.
Agriculture and growth (18th and 19th century):
Explosive growth:
- Better methods
- Larger scale
- Mechanization
- New crops
Further improvements for cultivation:
Phytopathology led to new measures, e.g. sterilization of greenhouse soil: steamed
in the winter.
Also, mechanization of agriculture continued.
The rationalization of agriculture:
Mass production, for export.
Agriculture increasingly came to resemble a laboratory:
Simplification of natural processes with controllable factors.
A small and controversial movement argues for ‘permaculture’: no ploughing, little
weeding, no standardization, control with ecological means.
Contraception and morality:
Even after WWII, contraception was considered taboo.
There was barely any research, contraception was available sneaky.
Result (without contraception) large families!
