World Wide Growth in Agriculture

If you live near a rapidly expanding city that is steadily gobbling up agricultural land for development, you might be surprised by a small piece in the most recent Smithsonian magazine. According to University of Wisconsin researchers, the percentage of the world's landmass devoted to agriculture has increased significantly over the past century. Using satallite images and ground-level surveys, scientists estimate that 40 percent of the earth's landmass is under cultivation or used to graze animals. That figure is up from about 25 percent a hundred years ago. South America accounts for a good portion of this growth thanks to an increase in soy bean production, most of which is exported to China.

You can find the item on page 18 of the February 2006 Smithsonian magazine.