--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Even today, with all our advanced…" description: "\"“Even today, with all our advanced technologies, more than 90 per cent of the calories that feed humanity come from the handful of plants that our ance..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/40a/yuval-noah-harari-100_domesticated_even-today-with-all-our-advanced-technol_3155788.jpg" --- # Even today, with all our advanced technologies, more than… ![“Even today, with all our advanced technologies, more than 90 per cent of the calories that feed humanity come from the handful of plants that our ancestors domesticated between 9500 and 3500 BC – wheat, rice, maize (called ‘corn’ in the US), potatoes, millet and barley. No noteworthy plant or…” quote by Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/40a/yuval-noah-harari-100_domesticated_even-today-with-all-our-advanced-technol_3155788.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/40a/yuval-noah-harari-100_domesticated_even-today-with-all-our-advanced-technol_3155788.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/40a/yuval-noah-harari-100_domesticated_even-today-with-all-our-advanced-technol_3155788.jpg) > ““Even today, with all our advanced technologies, more than 90 per cent of the calories that feed humanity come from the handful of plants that our ancestors domesticated between 9500 and 3500 BC – wheat, rice, maize (called ‘corn’ in the US), potatoes, millet and barley. No noteworthy plant or animal has been domesticated in the last 2,000 years. If our minds are those of hunter-gatherers, our cuisine is that of ancient farmers.”” [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Modern diets rely heavily on a few ancient crops, limiting nutritional diversity and resilience. **In simple terms:** Our food comes from a few old plants. Key Takeaway Diversify crops for health and security. Themes nutrition agriculture history diversity Mood concerned reflective Type analytical informative When to use this quote - urban farming - policy reform - educational campaigns - research funding Key Concepts food security genetic bottleneck cultural inertia Questions to Reflect On - How can we encourage adoption of new crops? - What policies support agricultural innovation? A Different Perspective Changing diets is culturally and economically challenging. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ancestors Domesticated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ancestors-domesticated-5683905/) [Ancient Farmers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ancient-farmers-5683906/) [Animal Domesticated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal-domesticated-4922049/) [Domesticated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/domesticated/) [Feed Humanity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feed-humanity-5683907/) ## Related quotes > [“The dog was the first animal domesticated by Homo sapiens, and this occurred before the Agricultural Revolution.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/the-dog-was-the-first-animal-domesticated-by-homo-sapiens-and-this/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“The Peace Panda Says...What we feed humanity today is what we will all  become tomorrow!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-pina/the-peace-panda-says-what-we-feed-humanity-today-is-what-we-will-all/) [Timothy Pina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-pina/) > [“Alas, domesticated species paid for their unparalleled collective success with unprecedented individual suffering.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/alas-domesticated-species-paid-for-their-unparalleled-collective/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“but we have incontrovertible evidence of domesticated dogs from about 15,000 years ago. They may have joined the human pack thousands of years earlier.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/but-we-have-incontrovertible-evidence-of-domesticated-dogs-from-about/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“But, by 8500 BC, the Middle East was peppered with permanent villages such as Jericho, whose inhabitants spent most of their time cultivating a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/but-by-8500-bc-the-middle-east-was-peppered-with-permanent-villages/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [We did not domesticate wheat; wheat domesticated us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/we-did-not-domesticate-wheat-wheat-domesticated-us/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [I am very domesticated. Some of my favorite things in life are being a mother and a wife. That's where I get the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sable/i-am-very-domesticated-some-of-my-favorite-things-in-life-are-being-a/) [Sable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sable/) > [“He stayed out of the house, he was much of the time in the woods, he felt like some animal half domesticated but ultimately…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gay/he-stayed-out-of-the-house-he-was-much-of-the-time-in-the-woods-he/) [William Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gay/) > [“The deviation of man from the state in which he was originally placed by nature seems to have proved to him a prolific source…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-jenner/the-deviation-of-man-from-the-state-in-which-he-was-originally-placed/) [Edward Jenner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-jenner/) > [We are domesticated animals, revolving in a cage which we have built for ourselves - with its contentions, wranglings, its impossible political leaders, its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/we-are-domesticated-animals-revolving-in-a-cage-which-we-have-built/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [“Cora Thompson had two of them--cats, that is. 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As far as we can tell, changes in social patterns, the invention of new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/for-similar-reasons-archaic-humans-did-not-initiate-any-revolutions/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Today the main source of wealth is knowledge. And whereas you can conquer oil fields through war, you cannot acquire knowledge that way.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/today-the-main-source-of-wealth-is-knowledge-and-whereas-you-can/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“How do you cause people to believe in an imagined order such as Christianity, democracy or capitalism? First, you never admit that the order…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/how-do-you-cause-people-to-believe-in-an-imagined-order-such-as/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [I think the basic thing that happened is we have lost our story. Humans think in stories, and we try to make sense of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/i-think-the-basic-thing-that-happened-is-we-have-lost-our-story/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Whereas chimpanzees spend five hours a day chewing raw food, a single hour suffices for people eating cooked food. 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We invented them to serve us; why do we find ourselves sacrificing our lives in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/corporations-money-and-nations-exist-only-in-our-imagination-we/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Small children in affluent societies often dislike showering, and it takes them years of education and parental discipline to adopt this supposedly attractive custom.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/small-children-in-affluent-societies-often-dislike-showering-and-it/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Ever more scholars see cultures as a kind of mental infection or parasite, with humans as its unwitting host. Organic parasites, such as viruses,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/ever-more-scholars-see-cultures-as-a-kind-of-mental-infection-or/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Soviet Communism was a fanatical and missionary religion. A devout Communist could not be a Christian or a Buddhist, and was expected to spread…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/soviet-communism-was-a-fanatical-and-missionary-religion-a-devout/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Whereas religion asks us to believe in something, money asks us to believe that other people believe in something”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/whereas-religion-asks-us-to-believe-in-something-money-asks-us-to/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Terrorists are like a fly that tries to destroy a china shop. The fly is so weak that it cannot budge even a single…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/terrorists-are-like-a-fly-that-tries-to-destroy-a-china-shop-the-fly/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Yet what happens if the greedy shoemaker increases his profits by paying employees less and increasing their work hours? The standard answer is that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/yet-what-happens-if-the-greedy-shoemaker-increases-his-profits-by/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“A natural order is a stable order. There is no chance that gravity will cease to function tomorrow, even if people stop believing in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/a-natural-order-is-a-stable-order-there-is-no-chance-that-gravity/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) [Explore all 1,200 Yuval Noah Harari quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) ## More Domesticated quotes > [“But I was not a domesticated animals...The dirt and grit of a city, the unending wakefulness of it, the crowdedness, the constant light obscuring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-vandermeer/but-i-was-not-a-domesticated-animals-the-dirt-and-grit-of-a-city-the/) [Jeff VanderMeer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-vandermeer/) > [“Some people love their animals more than their kids!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/some-people-love-their-animals-more-than-their-kids/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [“A domesticated man makes my lady parts beep!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/comic-strip-mama/a-domesticated-man-makes-my-lady-parts-beep/) [Comic Strip Mama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/comic-strip-mama/) > [“The bee is domesticated but not tamed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-longgood/the-bee-is-domesticated-but-not-tamed/) [William Longgood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-longgood/) > [“Cora Thompson had two of them--cats, that is. Which was quite remarkable considering she had never owned a pet before. Growing up in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-casey/cora-thompson-had-two-of-them-cats-that-is-which-was-quite-remarkable/) [Barbara Casey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-casey/) > [We are domesticated animals, revolving in a cage which we have built for ourselves - with its contentions, wranglings, its impossible political leaders, its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/we-are-domesticated-animals-revolving-in-a-cage-which-we-have-built/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [“The deviation of man from the state in which he was originally placed by nature seems to have proved to him a prolific source…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-jenner/the-deviation-of-man-from-the-state-in-which-he-was-originally-placed/) [Edward Jenner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-jenner/) > [“He stayed out of the house, he was much of the time in the woods, he felt like some animal half domesticated but ultimately…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gay/he-stayed-out-of-the-house-he-was-much-of-the-time-in-the-woods-he/) [William Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gay/) > [I am very domesticated. Some of my favorite things in life are being a mother and a wife. That's where I get the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sable/i-am-very-domesticated-some-of-my-favorite-things-in-life-are-being-a/) [Sable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sable/) > [I'm a family guy who grew up with metal, and even though I'm domesticated I still have this in me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-breuer/i-m-a-family-guy-who-grew-up-with-metal-and-even-though-i-m/) [Jim Breuer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-breuer/) > [“Control creates domesticated animals. The purpose of society is to inspire humanity, not tame them,’ said Ram.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/devdutt-pattanaik/control-creates-domesticated-animals-the-purpose-of-society-is-to/) [Devdutt Pattanaik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/devdutt-pattanaik/) > [To live in Venice is like being domesticated in the heart of an opal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lilian-whiting/to-live-in-venice-is-like-being-domesticated-in-the-heart-of-an-opal/) [Lilian Whiting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lilian-whiting/) > [Today I cleaned. Took out all the garbage. Did the dishes. And baked a cake. I've officially been domesticated. Thank you summer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-hyland/today-i-cleaned-took-out-all-the-garbage-did-the-dishes-and-baked-a/) [Sarah Hyland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-hyland/) > [“Nobody knows exactly where the first chickens were domesticated – India, China, Thailand, Vietnam – somewhere around 10,000 years ago, which is to say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-a-gill-2/nobody-knows-exactly-where-the-first-chickens-were-domesticated-india/) [A.A. Gill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-a-gill-2/) > [Most animals, including most domesticated primates (humans) show truly staggering ability to 'ignore' certain kinds of information - that which does not 'fit' their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/most-animals-including-most-domesticated-primates-humans-show-truly/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) [Browse all 74 Domesticated quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/domesticated/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Even today, with all our advanced technologies, more than 90 per cent of the calories that feed humanity come from the handful of plants that our ancestors domesticated between 9500 and 3500 BC – wheat, rice, maize (called ‘corn’ in the US), potatoes, millet and barley. No noteworthy plant or animal has been domesticated in the last 2,000 years. 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