Lately, I've been getting science (and medicine) before food, but I've been playing this for a while and have a bit more expeience in watching for problems and hunting mushrooms.

For a first time/new player it is probably better to go for the farming tech first.

But new players should not be in such a rush to get that first hut done. The extra population will just eat more food, and the villager is better off adding to the research team.