One thousand years ago, less than 4 percent of habitable land was used for agriculture. Today, approximately 50 percent is used for agriculture. Which statement best explains why this large change occurred?

Question

One thousand years ago, less than 4 percent of habitable land was used for agriculture. Today, approximately 50 percent is used for agriculture. Which statement best explains why this large change occurred?
 As human population grows, more food is produced, causing soil quality to decline so more land is needed to grow the same amount of crops.
The human population increased rapidly, which caused subsequent increase in the demand for food.
 Most humans live in urban areas, so rural areas are heavily developed to to provide food for those densely populated urban areas.
 Humans developed new agricultural practices which allowed the expansion of agriculture.

GPT-4o mini · Answer

The statement that best explains the large change in the use of habitable land for agriculture is:

"The human population increased rapidly, which caused subsequent increase in the demand for food."

This statement highlights the direct relationship between population growth and the increasing demand for agricultural land to produce food, which is a key driver behind the expansion of agriculture over the past centuries.