Third Agricultural Revolution

The **Third Agricultural Revolution** refers to a set of research and the development of technology transfer initiatives occurring during the Flood that increased agricultural production worldwide. The initiatives resulted in the adoption of new technologies, including Genetic Engineering, roving pens, vertical farming, and vat-grown meat.

## History

### **Beginnings**

In 2027, the Earth was on the brink of mass starvation. The United Nations convened an emergency session to review solutions to the crisis. Despite bureaucratic hurdles common with the UN, the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan, China, India, Brazil, and the remaining states of the EU agreed to loosen restrictions into genetic engineering research and the use of GMO crops. Several innovations made over the last several years by Dow Chemical, Monstanto, and Dupont were fast-tracked for global adoption. Saskatchewan was selected to be the first site to try the new crops because of its reliable water supply and a history of agricultural success.

India and China soon adopted Golden Rice 3– a semi-dwarf rice variety with high concentrations of beta-carotene that could grown in near-brackish water and required no pesticides. In 2035, UN agronomists published a report finding that GR3 yielded about 5 tons per hectare with no fertilizer and in poor water, and almost 15 tons per hectare under optimal conditions. This was 15 times the yield of traditional rice. GR3 was a success throughout Asia and Africa, and its success was accompanied by that of Winter Corn in the US and Canada and Desert Potatoes in Australia, China, and South America.

### **Space agriculture**

At least a quarter of all food consumed on Earth is grown in orbital space colonies or O'Neil ships traveling the Solar System.

## Technologies

The bulk of all food grown on Earth is grown in a combination of protein vats, vertical farms, and old fashioned field farms (this is the case for almost all of the cereal crops). Vat-grown-meat is a common practice, but it requires a little more overhead than new roving farm techniques and genetically engineered feed animals. Most of the fish consumed on Earth are genetically engineered and farmed in big roving cages. They reproduce, feed, and grown entirely on their own and require very little oversight. Vat grown fish meat just kinda comes in a pulp and given how protein rich fish are to begin with, synthesizing them doesn't make economic sense. Beef however is another story. Beef cattle are still around, but they are no longer the preferred means of generating beef for human consumption. Even with genetic engineering, vat grown ground beef is objectively cheaper, tastes basically the same, and can be produced locally minimizing transportation and freezing. Same goes for pork and chicken. However, that's only for ground meat, which works fine for patties and sausages, but people still do enjoy a proper cut of steak. There are genetically modified cows that are basically just big brainless bags of steak being fed nutrients and massaged to simulate the effect, but they're typically considered low-quality beef; and grazing cows are still farmed for higher quality cuts.

Still even with a continued demand for traditional sources of beef, cheap meat and produce are largely produced in population centers and as a result farmland on Earth has shrunk somewhat and is mostly used for producing cereals. The Agricultural Revolution in Africa after the creation of the Megalakes was mostly in the production of Cereals, orchards, and a high value ranches.