Looking for Answers Not having enough food is not a new
problem. Even the earliest farmers struggled with using Earth’s natural resources. Sometimes, the land wasn’t good for farming. It was too dry, too wet, or too rugged. To solve the problem, farmers
This 3-D printer is printing food. Y
changed the land. T ey reshaped it. T ey cut down trees or built dams. T ey made it easier to grow crops.
our class is coming for dinner.
You’re the cook. What will you fix? Most kids like pizza, but you’ll need to make a lot to feed everyone. You go into your kitchen, step up
to your 3-D food printer, and push a few buttons. T en your printer starts printing dinner. Easy! Most of us don’t have 3-D food
printers yet, though. T ey’re still being invented. But guess what? It won’t be long before lots of people have food printers in their kitchens. Maybe even yours. Here’s why. Earth’s population is growing fast.
Everyone needs to eat, but feeding everyone is a big challenge. Farmers and scientists are looking for new ways to grow food. T e printer may be part of the answer.
12 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC EXPLORER
Taking the Right Steps T e Incas were farmers who changed
their land. T ey were an ancient people in South America. T ere were more than 12 million Incas to feed. T ey lived in the mountains where
food was hard to grow. Water flowed down the slopes and washed away the soil. Water carried away the nutrients in the soil, too. So the Incas carved huge steps into
the side of the mountains. T ey built stone walls around each step. T ey made flat land to plant their crops. T ese terraces looked like giant
steps. Rainwater flowed into each step. T e soil soaked up the water. T e walls kept the soil from washing away. To this day, many people still farm this way. It’s called terrace farming.
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