Food preservation is the term used to describe any process used to slow the normal decay of food. There are many forms of food preservation. They range from simple refrigeration to treatment with radiation. Some methods date back to prehistoric times. But other methods have only been developed as a result of modern advances.
Food preservation helped make today's civilization possible. Without it, most people would have to grow their own food. Food could not be transported from rural areas to urban areas without being spoiled or destroyed by pests. As a result, large cities could not exist. In addition, famines would probably be more frequent and widespread, because surpluses of food could not be stored to guard against emergencies.
