in 1908, Henry Ford created the automated assembly line to produce more vehicles at an increased rate. Since then, mass production has been the most effective means of manufacturing. Mass production is defined as the production or manufacture of goods in large quantities, especially by machinery ("Mass production" def. 1). Mass production of goods is extremely common these days, due to the ability of manufacturers to produce large amount of goods at a cheaper price. This is because economies of scale arises, thus the greater the quantity of a good produced, the lower the per-unit fixed cost because these costs are shared over a larger number of goods. However, the focus of this paper is not about cars, airplanes, or electronics; it is about food. The mass production of food didn't take off until World War II, when demand for food was at an all-time high. From then on, the food system became more industrialized. This created a specialization in the food system, which is essentially the idea that farms could function more efficiently by focusing on fewer tasks. As food production and processing became more specialized, work became simpler and more routine. Mechanization, which is the replacement of human and animal labor with machinery that could aid in farmers' tasks, was then conceived. Production became more dependent on resources manufactured elsewhere, such as agricultural chemicals, synthetic fertilizers, and pesticides. Synthetic fertilizers are used to help better manage nutrients in soil and pesticides are used to control crop damage from certain insects and pests. The use of agricultural chemicals increased more than 500% from 1948 to 2008. In animal production, hormones and antibiotics were introduced to speed the growth of animals. They are still used today more than ever before. These new technologies made production more reliable, predictable, and efficient. This all sounds great, right? Well, these new methods of food production are certainly able to keep up with demand, but at the expense of our health.
