Hist 410: Keynotes 8

Why study food ?

- universality of conditions dictated by climate, soil; property, labor create collective and individual preferences
- universality of a shared experience: eating is associated with memories, sentiments, revulsion, hunger
- food measures social distance:
social distinction is expressed in 1. position at the table (furniture); 2. variety of food offered; 3. domestic roles: who cooks; who serves; 4. taboos (eating with which hand, which instruments)
- food reveals social organization:
1. labor distribution; 2. property distribution; 3. agricultural systems (irrigation, fertilizer; food preservation)

Societies
- produce, distribute food
- create rules for preparation and consumption of food
- food is linked to economy, technology, commerce, religion
- food reinforces group membership in rituals and celebrations which are symbols of identity

[for a detailed discussion on food as a historical topic see Raymond Grew (ed.), Food in Global History. Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press 1999].

China's Past and Future
China's food production is a continuous struggle providing for feast or facing famine. Traditionally famines lasted ten months (average). From 1959 to 1961 China faced the worst famine in history. 30 (- some estimates reprot 40) mio. people died. This famine was a manmade catastrophe. The Great Leap forward, a campaign designed to develop China's industrialization on a fast pace, is one of the causes for this long famine period. The masses were mobilized to improve China's economic situation thrugh large scale industrialization. Peasants instead of cultivating the land which was worked in collectivized manner since 1955, handed in metal tools and participated in the production of steel - of low quality.

It was only in 1980 that we learned about the range of the famine. China published its census statistics of the year 1964 which could be compared to the previous census taken in 1953.

Food rationing (in force since November 1953 for staple grains, meat, sugar, vegetable oil, soybean sauce, doufu, bean sprouts, mushrooms, water chestnuts, fish, string beans, potatoes, liquor) during the famine was tied to the permanent place of residents: farmers had no chance to leave the country and move to the better supplied cities. Ration coupons became a second currency.

In 1976 during Nixon's visit to China thirteen modern nitrogen fertilizer plants were ordered from the USA. In 1979 agricultural communes were dissolved and a 'household responsibility system' established. By 1984 food rationing was lifted in the cities.

(Vaclav Smil, China's Past, China's Future: Energy, Food, Environment. New York: Curzon 2004).