ABSTRACT
Food is an integral component of life and human existence. Since the beginning of time, humans have had to eat to survive. In earlier times when human population was much smaller, resources were abundant and there was less need for food processing and storage. As populations grew, limitations in food processing and storage techniques forced more individuals to devote considerable amounts of time daily to feeding themselves and their families (i.e., harvesting and hunting). Industrialization shifted a large percentage of the population toward a myriad of activities creating the need for an industrialized food sector to feed an increasing number of urbanized humans.
