For those in search of something more exclusive, there were smart restaurants and classy catering services. People chose what they ate and drank with little awareness of the sources or processes involved as long as the food was tasty, nutritious, safe, and sufficient for everyone. These conditions have not always been met over the last century when food shortages caused by economic crises, drought, or armed conflicts and war, occurred in various places. During the second half of the twentieth century, food deficiency was a feature of countries outside the Western world, especially in Africa. The twentieth century also witnessed a different sort of food crisis in the form of a widespread concern over the quality and safety of food that mainly resulted from major changes in production processes, products, composition, or preferences. Technology plays a key role in both types of crises, as both cause and cure, and it is the character of technological development in food and agriculture that will be discussed. The first section examines the roots of technological developments of modern times. The second is an overview of three patterns of agricultural technology. The final two sections cover developments according to geographical differences.

Before we can assess technological developments in agriculture and food, we must define the terms and concepts. A very broad description of agriculture is the manipulation of plants and animals in a way that is functional to a wide range of societal needs. Manipulation hints at technology in a broad sense; covering knowledge, skills, and tools applied for production and consumption of (parts or extractions of) plants and animals. Societal needs include the basic human need for food. Many agricultural products are food products or end up as such. However, crops such as rubber or flax and animals raised for their skin are only a few examples of agricultural products that do not end up in the food chain. Conversely, not all food stems from agricultural production. Some food is collected directly from natural sources, like fish, and there are borderline cases such as beekeeping. Some food products and many food ingredients are artificially made through complicated biochemical processes. This relates to a narrow segment of technology, namely science-based food technology. Both broad and narrow descriptions of agriculture are relevant to consider. In sugar production for example, from the cultivation of cane or beets to the extraction of sugar crystals, both traditional and science-based technologies are applied. Moreover, chemical research and development resulted in sugar replacements such as saccharin and aspartame. Consequently, a randomly chosen soft drink might consist of only water, artificial sweeteners, artificial colorings and flavorings, and although no agriculture is needed to produce such products, there is still a relationship to it. One can imagine that a structural replacement of sugar by artificial sweeteners will affect world sugar prices and therewith the income of cane and beet sugar producers. Such global food chains exemplify the complex nature of technological development in food and agriculture.