What statement best explains why growing food crops had an advantage over hunting and gathering? (1 point)

• Humans could control the amount of food they produced.
O Humans could work much less.
• Humans preferred plant-based food to animal-based food.
• Humans could use machines and mechanized tools.

The statement that best explains why growing food crops had an advantage over hunting and gathering is: "Humans could control the amount of food they produced."

The statement that best explains why growing food crops had an advantage over hunting and gathering is: "Humans could control the amount of food they produced."

To determine the statement that best explains why growing food crops had an advantage over hunting and gathering, we can analyze each option:

1. Humans could control the amount of food they produced.
This statement accurately reflects one of the advantages of growing food crops. When relying on hunting and gathering, humans were dependent on the availability of wild resources. However, by growing food crops, people gained the ability to control and increase their food production to meet their needs.

2. Humans could work much less.
While it is true that transitioning to agriculture allowed for more stable food sources and potentially reduced the time spent on searching for food, it is not the best statement to explain why growing food crops had an advantage over hunting and gathering. The transition to agriculture necessitated hard work and labor to cultivate the land, plant, nurture, and harvest crops.

3. Humans preferred plant-based food to animal-based food.
While individual food preferences can vary, this statement does not provide a substantial explanation for why growing food crops had an advantage over hunting and gathering. It pertains to personal preferences rather than addressing the practical advantages of agriculture.

4. Humans could use machines and mechanized tools.
This statement is not accurate when discussing the advantages of growing food crops over hunting and gathering. Machines and mechanized tools are relatively recent inventions, and the development of agriculture predates their introduction by thousands of years.

Therefore, the statement that best explains why growing food crops had an advantage over hunting and gathering is:
• Humans could control the amount of food they produced.