ABSTRACT
In Chapter 1, the origins of agriculture were traced to a period of about 10,000 years ago when the hunter-gatherer lifestyle was replaced by farming. This “green revolution” occurred in many locations and among many peoples. The diversity of foods and food compositions before and after the first green revolution suggest that fundamental genomic mechanisms exist to digest and utilize the broad spectrum of human diets (Chapters 1, 3, 4). Some of the genes that express digestive enzymes, such as amylase, are about 3.5 billion years old, as old as the first living cells. Other genes, such as enterokinase, which regulates protein digestion, are as young as 0.5 billion years old (Hedges et al., 2004). These digestive genes are part of the genome of all living organisms and are essential for maintenance, growth, and reproduction (de Duve, 2007). Their generic nature permits the present and future diversity of agriculture and food availability. As pointed out in Chapters 1 and 22, the growth of global population is already placing strains on food availability and diversity. It is my contention that greater understanding of basic human food needs, when coupled to understanding of the spectrum of food genomes, can continue to evolve and sustain global population growth and health through a new green revolution.
