Food History

Food and cuisine are important subjects for historians across many areas of study. Food, after all, is one of the most basic human needs and a foundational part of social and cultural histories. Such topics as famines, food supply, nutrition, and public health are addressed by historians specializing in every era and every nation. "Food in Time and Place" delivers an unprecedented review of the state of historical research on food, endorsed by the American Historical Association, providing readers with a geographically, chronologically, and topically broad understanding of food cultures--from ancient Mediterranean and medieval societies to France and its domination of haute cuisine. Teachers, students, and scholars in food history will appreciate coverage of different thematic concerns, such as transfers of crops, conquest, colonization, immigration, and modern forms of globalization.

This richly drawn ethnography of Samburu cattle herders in northern Kenya examines the effects of an epochal shift in their basic diet-from a regimen of milk, meat, and blood, to one of purchased agricultural products. In his innovative analysis, Jon Holtzman uses food as a way to contextualize and measure the profound changes occurring in Samburu social and material life. He shows that if Samburu reaction to the new foods is primarily negative--they are referred to disparagingly as "gray food" and "government food"--it is also deeply ambivalent. For example, the Samburu attribute a host of social maladies to these dietary changes, including selfishness and moral decay. Yet, because the new foods save lives during famines, the same individuals also talk of the triumph of reason over an antiquated culture and speak enthusiastically of a better life where there is less struggle to find food. Through detailed analysis of a range of food-centered arenas, "Uncertain Tastes" argues that the experience of food itself--symbolic, sensuous, social, and material-is intrinsically characterized by multiple and frequently conflicting layers.

Africa requires a new agricultural transformation that is appropriate for Africa, that recognizes the continent's diverse environments and climates, and takes into account its histories and cultures, while benefiting rural smallholder farmers and their families. In this boldly optimistic book, Sir Gordon Conway, Ousmane Badiane, and Katrin Glatzel, describe the key challenges faced by Africa's smallholder farmers and present the concepts and practices of Sustainable Intensification (SI) as opportunities to sustainably transform Africa's agriculture sector and the livelihoods of millions of smallholders. The way forward, they write, will be an agriculture sector deeply rooted within SI: producing more with less, using fertilizers and pesticides more prudently, adapting to climate change, improving natural capital, adopting new technologies, and building resilience at every stage of the agriculture value chain. "Food for All in Africa" envisions a virtuous circle generated through agricultural development rooted in SI that results in greater yields, healthier diets, improved livelihoods for farmers, and sustainable economic opportunities for the rural poor that in turn generate further investment. It describes the benefits of digital technologies for farmers and the challenges of transforming African agricultural policies and creating effective and inspiring leadership. "Food for All in Africa" demonstrates why we should take on the challenge and provides ideas and methods through which it can be met.

Over the past few years, large-scale land acquisitions in Africa have stoked controversy, making headlines in media reports across the world. Land that only a short time ago seemed of little outside interest is now being sought by international investors to the tune of hundreds of thousands of hectares. Private-sector expectations of higher world food and commodity prices and government concerns about longer-term national food and energy security have both made land a more attractive asset. Dubbed 'land grabs' in the media, large-scale land acquisitions have become one of the most talked about and contentious topics amongst those studying, working in, or writing about Africa. Some commentators have welcomed this trend as a bearer of new livelihood opportunities. Others have countered by pointing to negative social impacts, including loss of local land rights, threats to local food security and the risk that large-scale investments may marginalize family farming. Lorenzo Cotula, a leading expert in the field, casts a critical eye over the most reliable evidence on this hotly contested topic, examining the implications of land deals in Africa both for its people and for world agriculture and food security.

"In this meticulously researched and highly original study, Stacy Holden does for the urban citizens of Fez what Paul Pascon did for the tribesmen of the rural Haouz. She vividly documents the lives of ordinary people and shows how their needs and wants unexpectedly shape the structure of power in Morocco."--Jonathan G. Katz, Oregon State University. Unlike most other countries in the Middle East and North Africa, Morocco has had a stable government for centuries. Even when it was a French protectorate (1912-56), the Alaouite Sultans wielded centralized power. The reasons why are the subject of Stacy Holden's book, and the answers may come as a surprise. Holden successfully argues that, rather than the importance of a theocratic government to the citizenry, the key factor in the government's stability is its ability to provide food to its people in an equitable manner, despite arid conditions. Further, without apologizing for abuses of power, she suggests that an authoritative government may be the most logical form of government in the semi-arid lands of the Arab-Islamic world. She offers a new interpretation of Moroccan history by demonstrating the ways in which the French policies regarding food distribution were consistent with those of the precolonial Sultans. In Holden's telling, it was the weaknesses of the French government--especially when faced with local drought and global recession that bankrupted the government--that led to its inability to provide food to the people and subsequently to the rise of popular nationalism.