One of my first thoughts when I hear about food and agriculture is the Green Revolution. It was one of the major points that led towards industrialized farming and agribusiness. When I was first taught about the Green Revolution we had been learning about its driving point, GMO (genetically modified organism) crops. The two main crops of the first were wheat and rice. That sounds like an obvious choice. Most places farm and consume these as crops and food.
Alkon's beginning quote from Isabel Wilkerson on how radical empathy is "Looking at their situation and saying, not what would I do if I were in their position, but what are they doing. Why are they doing what they're doing from the perspective of what they have endured", reminded me on why the first wave of the Green Revolution wasn't a perfect success. Looking past all the introduction of extra pesticides and pesticides, the Green Revolution was primarily focused on a specific diet. The Americas and Asia were the primary benefits of this revolution. Most countries did benefit in an increase of produce. Sub-Saharan Africa did not. The crops grown there are different, as well as the climate and requirements for crop growth. Most farms in Africa were not pressed for space and did not use highly industrialized machinery that Americans used. It required a second wave in the Green Revolution for us to finally modify crops that were more likely to be a success in the African continent.
The 1st Green Revolution was said to have started around the 1940s. The second is around the 2000s, as early as the 1990s depending on the source. This shows a 60 year gap before the situation in Africa and similar countries was truly considered something to be worked on. I've attached two links for sites and papers that touch on the Green Revolution impact in Asia, Mexico, and Africa. It's a shock to see how the difference.
https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.0912953109
https://geosci.uchicago.edu/~moyer/GEOS24705/2014a/Notes/Hazell_IFPRI_2003.pdf
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