What were the causes of world population growth?

With new innovations of medicine and methods of food production both contributed to world population growth. Food growth was increased by the introduction of the steam engine. It allowed for larger scale irrigation by serving as a powerful water pump as well as new ways to process the food. The introduction of crops from the Western Hemisphere proved to be much more nutritious than foods traditionally found in Eurasia, and thus aided the population growth of countries such as England and China.