New food processing technologies: from foraging to farming to food technology
The theme of the present paper is to discuss new ‘food technologies’ and the impact they have had, and are likely to have, on the authors' society.
Abstract
The ‘daily bread’ for over six billion people today is largely derived from plant sources. The history of plant use reaches back uninterrupted to our earliest hominid ancestors. There is a long tradition of regarding the origins of agriculture (Hannery, 1973) as an important stage in the development of human society. Whilst acknowledging its significance, an equally profound revolution has passed unnoticed, this is the revolution in food processing and technology. The theme of the present paper is to discuss new ‘food technologies’ and the impact they have had, and are likely to have, on our society. Before we examine the ‘new’ food technologies, it