Every living organism needs a continuous supply of food. It is one of the basic requirements of life. When man made his appearance on earth, he faced the same problem the need for a continuous supply of food. A human being is omnivorous, meaning that he can digest many different kinds of food-vegetables as well as meat. In primitive times, man hunted almost exclusively, chasing and trapping animals and then cooking the meat. But at some time in his early history, he discovered that he could also eat certain plants and fruits. This must have been a momentous discovery, because hunting was a dangerous occupation, and the gathering of edible plants was a much more peaceful and sager way to fill the larder.
But there never were enough plants to last a season and none, on course, in the winter; the tribes had to move in chasing game, finding untouched areas of vegetation. Life must have been a game of steady movement, a constant search for food, a competition with all the other forms of life. Then came a great discovery, a method by which a supply of food could be grown in the same place year after year. Like other basic inventions and discoveries this made a pro-found change in the life and development of man.
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