To What Extent Is Farming An Improvement Over Foraging?

Growing crops, lots of manual labor, and long work days are all things that go into farming. The real question is though, to what extent was farming an improvement over foraging? Farming was an improvement over foraging because it led to the invention of new tools, reduced the risk of food shortages, and allowed for the development of permanent settlements. The first reason that farming is an improvement over foraging is because it led to the invention of new tools. Farming requires lots of manual labor and hard work, because of this some tools were invented to try to make farming easier. Along with this, some tools were also advanced during this time in order to be more efficient. In a Lumen Learning article on new agricultural tools it is

It also prevented animals and other bugs from eating the seeds that were left on the top of the soil. My second reason that farming is an improvement over foraging is because it reduces the risk of food shortages or scarcity. Hunting and gathering led to food shortages because people were hunting and gathering in the same areas and eventually their food source would run out. Farming is different because they were able to plant crops that could be sustained for longer periods and were also able to plant extra in order to prevent shortages. In a John Hopkins article on the history of agriculture it is stated, “Farming probably involved more work than hunting and gathering, but it is thought to have provided 10 to 100 times more calories per acre.Agriculture produced enough food that people became free to pursue interests other than worrying about what they were going to eat that day.” In this quote it is talking about how people were freed of the worry of food scarcity and figuring out what they were going to eat on a day to day basis. It also states in this quote that it might have been more work, but that farming provided a much bigger food