Ecoclimax

400,000 plant species and we built entire civilizations around two shrubs. Not wheat, not rice , not anything that keeps you alive. Two plants whose main offering is a chemical that delays the feeling of tiredness for a few hours. Cultures that never had contact with each other, separated by oceans and centuries, independently figured out that these particular plants were worth domesticating, trading, and eventually growing on a continental scale.  The maps published by VividMaps using SPAM 2020 V2r0 data illustrate the regions where these two species are cultivated. Coffea began in the forests of Ethiopia and eventually reached every continent with a suitable climate, which turns out to be a fairly specific set of places. Camellia sinensis moved outward from Chinese hillsides, first along trade routes and later through deliberate colonial transplantation into India, Sri Lanka, and East Africa. Both plants traveled well because dried leaves and roasted seeds don't spoil easily....

A tennis court versus a pizza box. That's the land difference between producing one kilogram of beef and one kilogram of tomatoes. Researchers Joseph Poore and Thomas Nemecek measured the land footprint of 38 different foods.  Their findings quantify something we've sensed but rarely seen mapped out precisely. Beef needs 326 square meters per kilogram each year. Lamb requires even more at 370 square meters. Cheese comes in at 88 square meters despite being dairy. Coffee and dark chocolate both rank high because tree crops spread across large areas—21 and 69 square meters respectively. Food Product Land Use (m²/year per kg) Land Use (ft²/year per lb) Lamb & Mutton 369.81 821.54 Beef (beef herd) 326.21 724.66 Cheese 87.79 195.02 Dark Chocolate 68.96 153.16 Beef (dairy herd) 43.24 96.05 Coffee 21.62 48.02 Pig Meat 17.36 38.56 Other Pulses 15.57 34.58 Nuts 12.96 28.7...