What was the Columbian Exchange's impact on global agriculture?

• A. It had no significant impact
• B. It changed only crops but not animals
• C. It transferred crops and animals between the Americas and Afro-Eurasia, transforming diets, land use, and agricultural systems worldwide
• D. It reduced crop diversity

Answer: (C)

The Columbian Exchange moved both crops and animals across the Atlantic between the Americas and Afro-Eurasia, and that movement reshaped farming everywhere. It wasn’t just about new foods; it changed how land was used and how agricultural systems worked around the world. Crops like potatoes, maize, beans, and tomatoes traveled from the Americas to Europe, Asia, and Africa, boosting calories, reshaping diets, and encouraging new farming practices. In return, Old World crops and animals—wheat, rice, sugarcane, coffee, horses, cattle, pigs, and chickens—entered the Americas, transforming ranching, crop production, and transportation. These exchanges collectively altered land use, spurred population growth, and helped drive the development of new agricultural systems globally. That broad, cross-hemisphere transfer and its wide-ranging effects make this answer the best description of the impact.