Modern agricultureAgriculture has seen little change between the end of the medieval era and the mid-21st century. (Baker, 2014) When the tractor became the common agricultural tool and replaced the horse, crop yields remained much the same. (Baker, 2014) From 1866 to 1938, corn yields in the United States were 30 bushels per acre. Compared to medieval yields, this figure is not much higher than a good year of growth in medieval times. (Baker, 2014) Innovation was significantly hampered by World War II and the Korean conflict. However, by 1951, crop yields began to steadily increase as new technologies such as fertilizers and hybrid corn varieties became more readily available in the United States. (Baker, 2014) After the introduction of these innovations, corn yields in the United States, from 1952-present, showed an increased yield of 2 bushels per acre per year. (Baker, 2014) This simple increase, not only in the production of corn, but also other grain sources, led to a considerable increase in the world's population. The population has grown more rapidly in the last 200 years than at any other time in history. This may seem relatively short, but compared to the history of agriculture, it is a very short period. Consider that it took over 1,000 years for the world to reach a population of 1 billion and only 207 years to reach 7 billion. This is an exponential population explosion. Throughout history, agriculture, through several revolutions, has provided a livelihood for the world's population. Through innovations such as the plow, crop rotation, and fertilizer, yields increased and supported the population. But how can modern agriculture provide for the needs of a population of 7 billion people? There is no...... middle of paper... Biosecurity?" Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies 9.2 (2002): 461-500. Web. March 1, 2014. Levetin, Estelle and Karen McMahon "Chapter 11: Origins of Agriculture." Plants and Society. The McGraw-Hill Companies, 2008. 177-186 Web, March 3, 2014. Paarlberg, Robert. "GMO Foods and Crops: Africa's Choice." (2010 ): 609-613. Web February 17, 2014. Pray, Carl, Latha Nagrajan, Luping Li, Jikun D. Huag, Ruifa Hu, KN Selvaraj, Ora Napasintuwong and Chandra Babu “Potential impact of biotechnology on adaptation of. agriculture to climate change: the case of breeding drought-tolerant rice in Asia” Sustainability 3 (2011): 1723-1741. Web. February 17, 2014. Xia, Lanqin, Youzhi Ma, Yi He, and Huw D. Jones. “Development of GM wheat in China: current status and commercialization challenges.” Journal of Experimental Botany 63.5 (2012): 1785-1790 Web.. 2014.