TECHNOLOGY MILESTONES FROM THE CHEMIST’S VIEW Chemists and chemical engineers have made many contributions to food and agriculture that allow us to raise, harvest, and consume abundant and nutritious food. At the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, an average kitchen table would be loaded with produce from the root cellar, garden, or local farm; butter from a churn; eggs from hens penned in the backyard; vegetables from the garden and meat stored in an icebox and cooked over a coal or wood stove. The last century has brought vast changes in how we get food on our tables by making our farms more productive and our food and water supplies readily available. Modern farmers have utilized new chemical advances to improve agricultural production with fertilizers and pesticides and to develop plentiful food supplies. Consumers have benefited from new technologies that have enhanced the flavor, appearance, availability, and nutritional value of their food. These advances in chemistry are helping to feed the world’s rapidly expanding population. IV.1. Fertilizers and Soil Nutrients Nitrogen fixation Haber-Bosch process Advances in chemical fertilizers Green Revolution and hybrid plants IV.3. Food Processing, Handling and Safety Saccharin and sweeteners Vitamins and minerals Preservation and manufacturing advances Food safety and quality control IV.2. Crop Protection and Pest Management Bordeaux method and fungicides DDT and pesticides Livestock protection Farm mechanization IV.4. Food Storing Food packaging Refrigerants and chlorofluorocarbons Microwave ovens Clean water IV. FOOD AND AGRICULTURE
Transcript
TECHNOLOGY MILESTONES FROM THE CHEMIST’S VIEW
Chemists and chemical engineers have made many contributions to food and agriculture that allow us to raise, harvest, and consume abundant and nutritious food. At the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, an average kitchen table would be loaded with produce from the root cellar, garden, or local farm; butter from a churn; eggs from hens penned in the backyard; vegetables from the garden and meat stored in an icebox and cooked over a coal or wood stove. The last century has brought vast changes in how we get food on our tables by making our farms more productive and our food and water supplies readily available. Modern farmers have utilized new chemical advances to improve agricultural production with fertilizers and pesticides and to develop plentiful food supplies. Consumers have benefited from new technologies that have enhanced the flavor, appearance, availability, and nutritional value of their food. These advances in chemistry are helping to feed the world’s rapidly expanding population.
IV.1. Fertilizers and Soil Nutrients Nitrogen fixation Haber-Bosch process Advances in chemical fertilizers Green Revolution and hybrid plants
IV.3. Food Processing, Handling and Safety Saccharin and sweeteners Vitamins and minerals Preservation and manufacturing advances Food safety and quality control
IV.2. Crop Protection and Pest Management Bordeaux method and fungicides DDT and pesticides Livestock protection Farm mechanization
IV.4. Food Storing Food packaging Refrigerants and chlorofluorocarbons Microwave ovens Clean water
IV. FOOD AND AGRICULTURE
IV. TECHNOLOGY MILESTONES IN FOOD AND AGRICULTURE
Chronology
1881 The French scientist Louis Pasteur discovers anthrax vaccine for sheep and hogs.
1883 Danish chemist Johan Gustav Kjeldahl developed a method to analyze the nitrogen content of any organic compound.
1884 The French botanist Pierre M. A. Millardet invents the Bordeaux mixture to fight vineyard mildew.
1901 John F. Quenny, the founder of Monsanto Company manufactures Saccharin.
1913 Two German chemists, Fritz Haber and Carl Bosch developed the process for the production of ammonia at an industrial level.
1913 Elmer V. McCollum and Marguerite David discover Vitamin A in butter and egg yolks.
1918 The firm Kelvinator launches the first successful compressor-operated refrigerator for home use.
1933 Milk fortified with Vitamin D is sold commercially.
1939 The Swiss chemist Paul Mueller discovers the insecticidal qualities of DDT pesticide.
1943 U.S. Department of Agriculture chemists develop aerosol dispersion for insecticides and farm applications.
1953 Saran wrap for household use is introduced by the firm Dow.
1964 The ‘Green Revolution’: Application of new hybrid plants and liquid soil fertilizers helps solve nutrition problems in the developing world.
1972 DDT usage banned in the United States. (As the first country in the world, Hungary banned it in 1968).
1974 Monsanto introduces its comprehensive and non-tilling Roundup herbicide.
1990 Novel fortifications in food and ‘nutriceutical’ products become commercially popular.
