Was the switch to farming really the worst mistake in human history?

The concept that our ancestors’ transition from a hunter-gatherer way of life to farming was a catastrophe for our well being is well-established, however a brand new research says it ought to immediate rethinking. Michael Marshall

With Michael Marshall

That is an excerpt from our Human Story electronic mail publication. Signal as much as obtain it free in your inbox each month.

STOP me when you’ve heard this earlier than: the change to farming has been a disastrous flip for the more serious. Starting about 12,000 years in the past, a few of our ancestors deserted the egalitarian and sustainable hunter-gatherer way of life that had operated for lots of of hundreds of years to begin rising crops. The end result has been poor well being, restricted diet, new ailments and unsustainable practices, leading to local weather change and a sixth mass extinction.

This narrative is nice…