Did you know that agriculture was born around 9500 BC? Did you know that we have evidence that human populations suffered famine as early as 1315?  An interactive timeline that chronicles “the human struggle to put food on the table, from the birth of agriculture to the birth of the 9 billionth human,” has been created by the Food for 9 Billion Project.

Visit this timeline to see more milestones in our history with food. You might be surprised to learn that the hunger strike as an attention-grabbing technique was pioneered by the women’s rights movement in England in the early 1900s. You will also see the year 1948 as a key date in modern human diets with the birth of McDonald’s fast food outlets. In 1962 FAO member countries established the World Food Programme. And in 2009, you’ll see the launch of The 1billionhungry project – which has since evolved to become the EndingHunger movement.

Play around with the timeline and think of how far we’ve come, and of the challenge still ahead of us:  feeding a global population that will soon hit 9 billion, while protecting precious natural resources. Then join the discussion on Facebook, or at the Food for 9 Billion Project.

Food for 9 Billion, is a collaborative project of Homelands Productions, the Center for Investigative Reporting, American Public Media's Marketplace, and PBS Newshour.