"Between 1850 and 1900 **the total population of the industrializing countries of Europe and North America grew from 300 million to 500 million**, and rapid urbanization helped to drive a dietary transition from a barely adequate grain-dominated supply to generally higher food energy intakes containing more animal products and sugar. Yields remained stagnant but the dietary shift was supported by an unprecedented expansion of cropland: **between 1850 and 1900, about 200 million hectares of North and South American, Russian, and Australian grasslands were converted to grain fields**." ([Location 1630](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08SGC3TD3&location=1630)) --- **Tags** -- [[quotes]], [[food-production]], [[demographics]], [[data-analytics]] **Source** -- [[202412030828 - B - How the World Really Works]]