Editing Refrigeration (section)

==Impact on agriculture and food production==
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Agriculture's role in developed countries has drastically changed in the last century due to many factors, including refrigeration. Statistics from the 2007 census gives information on the large concentration of agricultural sales coming from a small portion of the existing farms in the United States today. This is a partial result of the market created for the frozen meat trade by the first successful shipment of frozen sheep carcasses coming from New Zealand in the 1880s. As the market continued to grow, regulations on food processing and quality began to be enforced. Eventually, electricity was introduced into rural homes in the United States, which allowed refrigeration technology to continue to expand on the farm, increasing output per person. Today, refrigeration's use on the farm reduces humidity levels, avoids spoiling due to bacterial growth, and assists in preservation.

===Demographics===
The introduction of refrigeration and evolution of additional technologies drastically changed agriculture in the United States. During the beginning of the 20th century, farming was a common occupation and lifestyle for United States citizens, as most farmers actually lived on their farm. In 1935, there were 6.8 million farms in the United States and a population of 127 million. Yet, while the United States population has continued to climb, citizens pursuing agriculture continue to decline. Based on the 2007 US Census, less than one percent of a population of 310 million people claim farming as an occupation today. However, the increasing population has led to an increasing demand for agricultural products, which is met through a greater variety of crops, fertilizers, pesticides, and improved technology. Improved technology has decreased the risk and time involved for agricultural management and allows larger farms to increase their output per person to meet society's demand.<ref>{{cite web|title=Demographics|url=http://www.epa.gov/oecaagct/ag101/demographics.html|date=2015-03-19}}</ref>

===Meat packing and trade===
Prior to 1882, the [[South Island]] of New Zealand had been experimenting with sowing grass and crossbreeding sheep, which immediately gave their farmers economic potential in the exportation of meat. In 1882, the first successful shipment of sheep carcasses was sent from [[Port Chalmers]] in [[Dunedin]], New Zealand, to [[London]]. By the 1890s, the frozen meat trade became increasingly more profitable in New Zealand, especially in [[Canterbury Region|Canterbury]], where 50% of exported sheep carcasses came from in 1900. It was not long before Canterbury meat was known for the highest quality, creating a demand for New Zealand meat around the world. In order to meet this new demand, the farmers improved their feed so sheep could be ready for the slaughter in only seven months. This new method of shipping led to an economic boom in New Zealand by the mid 1890s.<ref>{{cite web|last=Peden|first=R.|title=Farming in the Economy-Refrigeration and Sheep Farming|url=https://teara.govt.nz/en/farming-in-the-economy/page-3}}</ref>

In the United States, the Meat Inspection Act of 1891 was put in place in the United States because local butchers felt the refrigerated railcar system was unwholesome.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Libecap|title=The Rise of the Chicago Meat Packers and the Origins of Meat Inspection and Antitrust|journal=Economic Inquiry |volume=30|pages=242–262|doi=10.1111/j.1465-7295.1992.tb01656.x|s2cid=154055122|url=http://www.nber.org/papers/h0029.pdf}}</ref> When meat packing began to take off, consumers became nervous about the quality of the meat for consumption. [[Upton Sinclair]]'s 1906 novel ''[[The Jungle]]'' brought negative attention to the meat packing industry, by drawing to light unsanitary working conditions and processing of diseased animals. The book caught the attention of President [[Theodore Roosevelt]], and [[Federal Meat Inspection Act|the 1906 Meat Inspection Act]] was put into place as an amendment to the Meat Inspection Act of 1891. This new act focused on the quality of the meat and environment it is processed in.<ref>{{cite book|last=Rockoff|first=Gary M. Walton, Hugh|title=History of the American Economy|url=https://archive.org/details/historyamericane00walt_332|url-access=limited|year=2010|publisher=South-Western/Cengage Learning|location=Mason, OH|isbn=978-0-324-78661-3|pages=[https://archive.org/details/historyamericane00walt_332/page/n360 336]–368|edition=11th}}</ref>

===Electricity in rural areas===
In the early 1930s, 90 percent of the urban population of the United States [[electrification|had electric power]], in comparison to only 10 percent of rural homes. At the time, power companies did not feel that extending power to rural areas ([[rural electrification]]) would produce enough profit to make it worth their while. However, in the midst of the [[Great Depression]], President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] realized that rural areas would continue to lag behind urban areas in both poverty and production if they were not electrically wired. On May 11, 1935, the president signed an executive order called the [[Rural Electrification Administration]], also known as REA. The agency provided loans to fund electric infrastructure in the rural areas. In just a few years, 300,000 people in rural areas of the United States had received power in their homes.

While electricity dramatically improved working conditions on farms, it also had a large impact on the safety of food production. Refrigeration systems were introduced to the farming and [[food distribution]] processes, which helped in [[food preservation]] and [[food safety|kept food supplies safe]]. Refrigeration also allowed for shipment of perishable commodities throughout the United States. As a result, United States farmers quickly became the most productive in the world,<ref>{{Citation|periodical=Rural Cooperatives|last=Campbell|first=D.|title=When the Lights Came On|url=http://www.rd.usda.gov/files/CoopMag-aug00.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150424031515/http://www.rd.usda.gov/files/CoopMag-aug00.pdf|archive-date=2015-04-24|date=August 2000}}</ref> and entire new [[food systems]] arose.

===Farm use===
In order to reduce humidity levels and spoiling due to bacterial growth, refrigeration is used for meat, produce, and dairy processing in farming today. Refrigeration systems are used the heaviest in the warmer months for farming produce, which must be cooled as soon as possible in order to meet quality standards and increase the shelf life. Meanwhile, dairy farms refrigerate milk year round to avoid spoiling.<ref>{{cite web|last=Beard|first=R.|title=Energy-Efficient Refrigeration for Farms|url=https://farm-energy.extension.org/energy-efficient-refrigeration-for-farms/}}</ref>