Nations & Food: Past & Present

(1) Human history has been shaped by a preoccupation with food. Ever since prehistoric times, the search for food has determined where people have lived, what they have invented, who they have befriended, and how they have lived. Throughout history, conditions related to the food supply have determined where ports and cities were built, where expeditions of exploration were sent, which wars were fought, and who would rule nations. Nothing has occupied more human time and energy than the tasks related to finding, collecting, transporting, and preparing food. Food both reflects the societies in which it is found and shapes the character of the people in them.

(2) From their earliest moments on earth, people have been preoccupied with food. Prehistoric humans were first hunters of animals and gatherers of plants. Some of the earliest human inventions were related to the human pursuit and preparation of food. Spears and clubs, for example, were created for the purpose of hunting. A particularly significant innovation, the ability to control and use fire, changed life considerably and prepared the way for an entirely new diet. Using fire in cooking made edible some formerly indigestible foods and probably greatly improved human health, since heat helps to break down the food fibers and release protein and carbohydrates. The controlling of fire therefore led humankind to a longer life-span and stronger existence.

(3) Prehistoric life was nomadic. Not until people began to cultivate their own food and raise animals did they see the need to settle in one place. They then formed permanent communities where they could await the cycles of the seasons and combine their efforts to farm the land. This led to more time for leisure and for the development of better agricultural tools and techniques. Such innovations as pottery, the calendar, and water management resulted from the needs of these early farmers. Thus, food influenced the most fundamental of choices, including where people lived, how they regulated their environment, and how they expressed their creativity.

(4) The food preferences of a civilization both reflect its environment and determine its habits. The civilizations that lived in rich pasturelands, such as those in the Middle East, developed the capability of domesticating sheep, goats, and cattle. As a result, meat was an important part of their diet. On the other hand, the people of other cultures, such as those in South America and Asia, raised almost no animals and consumed almost no meat because they lived on land that could not support large herds. Partly because of their vegetarian diet, the Asians often had trouble stopping the aggressions of their meat-eating enemies, who tended to be stronger. From these vegetarian civilizations we have inherited a tremendous variety of domesticated plants such as corn, potatoes, beans, gourds, squash, tomatoes, peanuts, green peppers, cocoa beans, vanilla beans, peas, cucumbers, wheat, barley, and rice.

(5) In some cases, the history of an individual food reveals insights into cultural preferences and cross-cultural relationships. The potato, for example, is usually attributed to the Irish but was actually used widely by the Inca Indians in Peru as early as A.D.100. After Pizarro's conquest of the Incas in 1537, the potato was taken back to Spain. Although the Spanish refused to eat it, they raised it to feed to their animals. Spanish settlers later took it to eat on the long voyage to Florida in 1560 because it didn't spoil easily. After the British raided the Spanish in Florida, the potato was among the "valuables" that they took back to England, but the British wouldn't eat it either. But when the potato was introduced in Ireland, it was immediately adopted as the national food. Today the potato is widely popular in Europe. In fact, nine times more potatoes are produced in Europe than in the United States. The potato has become a part of the everyday diet in many Western cultures.

(6) The transformation from eating for survival to dining for pleasure took place in ancient Greece and Rome where the upper class cultivated the art of dining and gave food new prestige. During the Roman Empire, feasts commonly lasted for days, and hosts tried to impress their guests with spectacular banquets that might include such extravagances as field mice, nightingale tongues, ostrich brains, parrot heads, camel heels, elephant trunks, and carp that had been fattened on a diet of human slave meat. Gluttony and wastefulness were so excessive that laws were passed at various times to enforce moderation by legislating the cost of a meal, the number of guests, or the variety of dishes, but these laws were consistently ignored by the aristocracy. Just as Rome lived by its appetite, it may have died by it as well. Some historians speculate that one of the causes of the fall of the Roman Empire was lead poisoning. The water supply may have been contaminated with lead because of the use of leaden irrigation pipes. In addition, the Roman aristocracy may have died off as a result of using leaden cooking vessels to cook wine-based syrups and sauces. These foods absorbed an especially heavy dose of lead, which is fatal in large quantities. The poor, who used ordinary earthenware cooking pots, avoided this chemical reaction.

(7) It has been said that food was partially responsible for both the rise and the fall of the Roman Empire. Soon after Rome fell, social order virtually vanished and civilization halted. Bridges collapsed, roads fell into disrepair, communication stopped, and communities eventually became isolated. As a result of this isolation, the importing and exporting of food stopped and a fight for survival began. The sophisticated agricultural techniques and the art of selective breeding of animals were soon forgotten. Fields were allowed to become overgrown, and animals were undernourished. Whenthere was a shortage of meat, people slaughtered their plow animals. This left them with no animals to plow their fields and led to subsequent food shortages. During this period, known as the Dark Ages, food again became a necessity instead of a pleasure. The only visible attention to food at this time was given by Catholic holy men, known as monks. Although they led a simple life, they kept alive the tradition of dining" through their pleasure of good food. The religious ideal of hard work motivated them to produce food for the surrounding areas, and their communities eventually developed into resourceful industries that helped Europe to acquire productive skills again.

(8) By early in the 15th century, Europe was sending explorers around the world for exotic foods and spices. This led to the discovery of the Americas and to the first European settlements in North America. The first American settlers at Jamestown were mostly refined "gentlemen" who had never done any physical work and had no interest in doing so. The winter of 1609-1610 became known as the "Starving Time." because four out of five people starved. If the Native American Indians hadn't helped the settlers, they all would have died. Food thus became the basis for the first relationships between the settlers and the Native Americans. Indian influence on the developing dietary habits of the American settlers cannot be overstated: 80 percent of the present American food plants were unknown to Europeans before Columbus's arrival in North America in 1492.

(9) Just as in many other wars throughout history, food was very influential in the starting of the American Revolution. The British taxes on imported tea and molasses made the early American patriots angry enough to fight. John Adams called molasses "an essential ingredient to American Independence." In addition, the knowledge that the patriots could survive without imported food surely helped give them the confidence to fight for independence.

(10) The influence of food on the United States did not stop with the American Revolution. Many of the immigrants who have flocked to the United States throughout history have come because of the rich food supply. For example, thousands of Irish immigrated to the United States in 1846 because of Ireland's potato famine. In addition to influencing immigrants to move to the United States, food influenced how they survived and prospered once they arrived. Many of the inventions that made people affluent and have determined the direction of American industry were related to agriculture and food production. These included the McCormick reaper in 1834, the ice-making machine in 1830, and the machine-made can in 1368.

(11) People today are no less influenced by food than were their predecessors. Americans annually spend an estimated $250 billion on food. About 10 percent of that is spent on fast food, and another large portion in other restaurants. In fact, since 1980, Americans have eaten less than half of their meals at home. An abundance of other trends have affected both American eating habits and food-related industries, including processed foods, microwavable foods, "natural" foods, gourmet foods, and diet foods, which alone capture 30 percent of the American food budget. Although the quality of American food may have decreased as a result of mass production and high technology, its prominence in daily life was never more visible.