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Stufen der Ernährung: eine historische Skizze
German
78 pages, Perfect Paperback
First published January 1, 1981
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April 23, 2019
Slightly outdated with a data description that could be much more graphic and tabellaric. Still a very recommended read for anyone who is interested in how consumer's baskets changed from the middle ages until the early modern, even post-industrialisation period. He also implicitly describes the change of agricultural cultivation and land use over time. Focus is mostly on the 1933 German borders (or at times Prussia only), but he quite often cites (in 1981 barely available) work from colleagues working on different areas, confirming his results largely.
Some of the main punchlines and general patterns are:
- market forces/price mechanisms were at play big time at any time (e.g. population pressure meant increasing grain prices which implied adjustments by consumers and by farmers in the way they used their land)
- the Bread/Meat ratio in consumption is a good indicator for how well the population is off (in hard times the grain prices increased but consumers still substituted away from meat because grain was just more calorie efficient relative to prices)
- as the middle ages ended population expanded again and this implied a huge switch in consumer baskets away from meat towards plant based alternatives (legumes and grain - from late 18th century on potatoes) [first and second stage, already identified by Adam Smith]
- salt was essentially the only good for which there was no substitute (which is probably the reason why it was taxed heavily by France, Prussia, etc.)
- to Smith's (1776) two stages of "nourishment" he adds a third (that starts after Smith's death in the last part of the 19th century). At the center is a switch of farmers towards putting cattle at the center of production ("veredelung") rather than just using them as a "tool" to increase grain output. During this period also consumer tastes switched towards leaner meat etc. Most probably this was all a function of the expanding wealth, and thus of industrialisation.
You would be surprised by how much Beer and Wine was drunk during these periods (as water was much unhealthier, especially in urban areas). Fish was also a very important consumer good (e.g. the herring for the Hanse), market forces implied that many artificial ponds etc. in order to breed sweetwater fish were created due to rising prices (in the first stage!)
Some of the main punchlines and general patterns are:
- market forces/price mechanisms were at play big time at any time (e.g. population pressure meant increasing grain prices which implied adjustments by consumers and by farmers in the way they used their land)
- the Bread/Meat ratio in consumption is a good indicator for how well the population is off (in hard times the grain prices increased but consumers still substituted away from meat because grain was just more calorie efficient relative to prices)
- as the middle ages ended population expanded again and this implied a huge switch in consumer baskets away from meat towards plant based alternatives (legumes and grain - from late 18th century on potatoes) [first and second stage, already identified by Adam Smith]
- salt was essentially the only good for which there was no substitute (which is probably the reason why it was taxed heavily by France, Prussia, etc.)
- to Smith's (1776) two stages of "nourishment" he adds a third (that starts after Smith's death in the last part of the 19th century). At the center is a switch of farmers towards putting cattle at the center of production ("veredelung") rather than just using them as a "tool" to increase grain output. During this period also consumer tastes switched towards leaner meat etc. Most probably this was all a function of the expanding wealth, and thus of industrialisation.
You would be surprised by how much Beer and Wine was drunk during these periods (as water was much unhealthier, especially in urban areas). Fish was also a very important consumer good (e.g. the herring for the Hanse), market forces implied that many artificial ponds etc. in order to breed sweetwater fish were created due to rising prices (in the first stage!)
Displaying 1 of 1 review