How Food Made History

Food is at the center of life, and as such, it is a vital driver of cultural and political development. It is only recently that some societies have started to enjoy food security and year-long abundance. By asking why we choose to eat what we eat, How Food Made History examines how this transition occurred, and why these developments have varied over time and between societies. Crucially, in demonstrating the centrality of food to human development, the book illuminates broader patterns of global history.

How Food Made History offers a wide-ranging overview of 5,000 years of global history, a period dominated by agriculture and urbanization. It traces the changing patterns of food production and consumption that have molded economic and social life and contributed fundamentally to the development of government and complex societies. The author also charts the changing technologies that have increased crop yields, enabled the industrial processing and preservation of food, and made possible trade and transportation. Higman places recent trends, such as the co-existence of abundance and famine, obesity and dieting, into historical context and provides a fresh understanding of the importance of food in world history for modern readers.