Download The Globalization of Taste: History of the Economic

THE GLOBALIZATION OF TASTE: HISTORY OF THE ECONOMIC AND
SOCIAL IMPACT OF SPECIFIC FOODS THAT CHANGED THE WORLD
THROUGH TRADE
Thomas C. Hudgins
Professor of Economics
Collin College
Spring Creek Campus
2800 E. Spring Creek Parkway
Plano, TX 75074
Tel: (972)-516-5060
E-mail: [email protected]
I have had a longtime interest in international trade—the kinds of commodities
traded among nations, the methods of transporting them, and the effects of those products
on the economies and societies of the countries engaged in that trade. An example from
the current era is the effect of America's trade with China: the particular products bought
and sold by both countries; the "exporting" of American labor costs to China (where
workers are paid considerably less); and America's balance-of-trade deficit with China.
During the past decade, the production and sale of inexpensive Chinese products has
brought about a decline in U. S. manufacturing and the loss of jobs for many Americans,
but has also made many products available to more Americans at a lower price (think
Wal-Mart, where more than 90% of the non-food items on its shelves are made in China).
Finally, dollars earned by China flow back to the United States to buy U. S. government
bonds.
I also have a particular interest in the trade of food products, many of which have
had a noticeable impact on the economies and societies of both the producing countries
and the consuming countries (e.g., the tea trade between India and England in the 18th
and 19th centuries). This is an area of study in which the fields of economics, agronomy,
social anthropology, politics, and food history converge.
As Tom Standage, financial editor for The Economist magazine, wrote in his
introduction to An Edible History of Humanity (pp. ix-x):
"Throughout history, food has done more than provide sustenance. It has acted as
a catalyst of social transformation, societal organization, geopolitical competition,
industrial development, military conflict, and economic expansion.... Food trade
routes acted as international communications networks that fostered not just
commercial exchange, but cultural and religious exchange, too. The spice routes
that spanned the Old World led to cross-cultural fertilization in fields as diverse as
architecture, science, and religion.... By far the greatest transformation caused by
food trade was a result of the European desire to circumvent the Arab spice
monopoly. This led to the discovery of the New World [and] the opening of
maritime trade routes between Europe, America, and Asia...."
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During the 2011 Summer I term, I propose to read fifteen books that address
different aspects of food migration through trade, in several parts of the world, primarily
from the 15th century to the present. I am particularly interested in the ways in which
certain foods from one part of the world migrate, via trade, to other regions of the
planet—and the effects of this trade on the economies and societies of the countries
involved. I am also interested in the reasons that specific foods have become desired
(and profitable) commodities, including spices, sugar, and sturgeon eggs.
The goal of this study project is to enhance my knowledge of the history of
international trade, and its social consequences, by focusing on selected food products
and their role in the globalization of trade primarily during the past 500 years.
STUDY PLAN
I chose this line of study because I am interested in the way in which commodities
enter new markets and become accepted articles of trade. The production and
distribution of food is an important aspect of the domestic economy of every society. In
addition, for many countries, trade of food products beyond their borders can be a
significant part of their overall economy. I am especially interested in the ways that food
products disperse to different parts of the world through conquest, colonization, and
trade—and in the social, cultural, and economic reasons why some of these new foods
eventually supplant indigenous ones.
This topic is directly related to my academic background as well as my interest in
food products as an internationally traded commodity. This study grant would enable me
to learn more about the economic history of global trade and the effects of that trade on
the countries involved. Such a historical perspective would also enable me to put current
trade issues related to agricultural commodities (such as free trade of food products, the
importing/exporting of genetically modified crops, and the use of corn and other grains
for biofuels) into a broader context when presenting these issues to my students.
Topics and Questions To Be Explored:
● What are the earliest written records of food trade between separate societies?
● What economic and social transformations have occurred as a result of the crossborder trade in food over the past 2,000 years—and especially during the past five
centuries?
● Which specific food products figured in the "Columbian Exchange" after Columbus's
first voyage in 1492—i.e., which foods from the Western Hemisphere were introduced
first to Europe, then elsewhere in the world, and which foods indigenous to Europe and
Asia were brought to the Western Hemisphere? For example, how did the opening up of
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new trade routes affect the dispersal of New World foods such as capsicum peppers,
tomatoes, and potatoes around the world?
● What effect has the trade of food commodities had on the establishment of empires?
● What effect did international trade have on the field of economic botany during the
time of the Dutch East India Company (17th–18th centuries)?
● Why have spices been so highly valued by many different peoples around the world?
● Why has salt been a major commodity of trade since ancient times?
● How important, historically, were staple foods (rice, beans, corn, etc.) in international
trade—as opposed to "luxury" foods (sugar, spices, caviar)?
● What role did sugar and potatoes play in the Industrial Revolution in Europe?
● What effect has international demand had on the survival of fish species such as cod,
sturgeon, and bluefin tuna?
● How have technological developments in transportation and food preservation
influenced the worldwide trade of food products?
● How has the trade of food products been used for political purposes (e.g., the sale of
wheat by the U. S. to the Soviet Union, the ban on sugar imports to the U. S. from Cuba)?
● What can the history of international trade of food commodities tell us about the issues
of "free trade" versus "fair trade" in today's world?
Weekly Work Plan:
During the 2011 Summer I term, I plan to read two to three books each week, in
the sequence listed in the following annotated bibliography, starting with three books that
provide a more general historical overview (from different perspectives), then
progressing to books that focus on a single food product or a specific food category.
Each book has been selected for its coverage of different historical aspects of the
international trade in food commodities. These books (several of which have won
national awards) were written by a wide variety of experts, including historians,
anthropologists, and economists. (Note: Since this field of study is so large, I chose to
select certain foods that were historically important, in order to narrow this to a
manageable subject.)
Intellectual Development and Professional Application:
This research will increase my knowledge of how specific foods are dispersed to
new geographic areas as a result of international trade. Better knowledge of the
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economic and social history of the international trade in food commodities will give me a
broader perspective on contemporary economic issues such as "fair trade" versus "free
trade," the use of food commodities for political leverage between nations, and the
economic and ecological effects of the consumption of certain foods traded
internationally.
I plan to use the information from this research to provide specific examples
about the history of global trade to my students in Collin College classes. Globalization
is an important issue in economics today, but many students assume that it is a
contemporary issue that has arisen only in the recent past. By providing specific
examples from the history of international trade—from the Arab spice trade to the
Columbian Exchange to the marketing of cod and tuna—I will be able to give my
students a better perspective on this important economic issue.
In past years, I have been a speaker at academic conferences in the U. S. and
abroad, as well as speaking to college and community groups here in Texas. I have also
published academic papers about the contemporary marketing of food products within
specific countries (post-Soviet Russia, 20th-century America). A Collin College Study
Grant would enable me to expand my knowledge of the history of international trade in
food commodities and its importance in shaping the societies engaged in that trade during
earlier periods, and over a much wider geographical area, than the ones I have studied
before. I will then be able to incorporate this information into lectures that I present in
the future to students, faculty, professional organizations, and the general public.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
NOTE: Sources are listed by category, in the sequence in which I plan to read them,
instead of being listed alphabetically by author. Some of the readings cover overlapping
periods of history, but focus on different food commodities and approach the subject
from different perspectives.
Historical overview:
● Standage, Tom. An Edible History of Humanity. New York: Walker, Inc., 2009.
Synthesizes studies from archeology, anthropology, sociology, geography,
economics, and political history, to explain how specific foods helped to
transform societies around the world, from pre-history to the present.
● Murray, Sarah. Moveable Feasts: From Ancient Rome to the 21st Century, the
Incredible Journeys of the Food We Eat. New York: St. Martin's Press, 2007.
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Focuses on the migration (including modes of transportation) of foods across
countries and continents, and the ways in which those foods have brought about
major changes in the economics and politics of the countries examined.
● Sokolov, Raymond. Why We Eat What We Eat: How the Encounter Between the New
World and the Old Changed the Way Everyone on the Planet Eats. New York:
Summit Books, 1991.
Examines the "Columbian Exchange"—the foods of the Western Hemisphere that
traveled around the globe and those of the Eastern Hemisphere brought to North
and South America as a result of the voyages of Columbus in the 15th century
(and those of later explorers and traders), and how those new foods affected the
economies and societies of the countries where they were introduced.
Staple foods:
● Mintz, Sidney. Sweetness and Power: The Place of Sugar in Modern History. New
York: Viking Penguin, 1985.
Classic study about how Europeans and Americans transformed sugar from a rare
foreign luxury to a common necessity of modern life, and how sugar changed the
history of capitalism and industry in the Western world.
● Zuckerman, Larry. The Potato: How the Humble Spud Rescued the Western World.
New York: Faber & Faber, 1998.
When potatoes arrived in Europe from South America, they were initially feared
and loathed, blamed for problems as diverse as poisonings, population explosions,
and social upheavals. But potatoes also saved many people from starvation and
improved their lives in other ways. This history of the potato traces its influence
across the Western world: how it changed the shape of agrarian societies,
triggered world emigration, and influenced social-welfare reforms.
● Fussell, Betty. The Story of Corn. Albuquerque, New Mexico: University of New
Mexico Press, 2004.
Classic work tracing the history, social importance, and economic impact of corn
around the world, from its ancient origins in Central America, to its global
dispersion beginning in the 16th century, to the place of hybrid corns in the
"Green Revolution" of the 1960s.
● Albala, Ken. Beans: A History. New York: Berg, 2007.
Examines the history of a wide variety of beans as sustaining (and sustainable)
staple foods for thousands of years in many parts of the world, and how the
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migration of certain beans to other regions changed the diets of the people living
there.
Meat:
● Fussell, Betty. Raising Steaks: The Life and Times of American Beef. New York:
Harcourt Incorporated, 2008.
Beef cattle were first brought to the Western Hemisphere by the early Spanish
colonizers, and today residents of Argentina, Uruguay, and the United States
consume more beef, per capita, than anyone else in the world. This book looks at
the history of the beef industry in the United States, with particular emphasis on
its economic and social impact, including international trade.
Fish:
● Kurlansky, Mark. Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World. New York:
Walker Publishing Company, Inc., 1997.
History of the Atlantic cod fishing industry from the Middle Ages to the end of
the 20th century, with emphasis on its economic, sociological, and ecological
aspects.
● Issenberg, Sasha. The Sushi Economy: Globalization and the Making of a Modern
Delicacy. New York: Gotham Books, 2007.
Twenty years ago, sushi was a food eaten primarily by the Japanese. Today,
sushi bars can be found all over the world, from small towns in the American
Midwest to cities in Africa. This book focuses on the economics of the bluefin
tuna industry, tracing the journey of tuna from the sea to sushi bar, and examining
the ecological and economic impacts of overfishing bluefin tuna to meet
worldwide demand.
● Saffron, Inga. Caviar: The Strange History and Uncertain Future of the World's Most
Coveted Delicacy. New York: Broadway Books, 2002.
Traces the history of sturgeon eggs from a humble peasant food to an indulgence
of the rich to a coveted status symbol for a rising middle class in many parts of
the world. This book describes the complex industry that caviar has spawned,
from Russia to Europe to the United States, and how the transformation of this
once-rare food into a mass-market commodity now threatens to make certain
species of sturgeon extinct.
Spices:
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● Freedman, Paul. Out of the East: Spices and the Medieval Imagination. New Haven:
Yale University Press, 2008.
History of how the spice trade motivated the entire trading system of the
Mediterranean countries during the Middle Ages and launched the Age of
Exploration, by sea, in search of a westward route across the Atlantic to the Asian
spice-producing countries and an eastward route around the coast of Africa.
● Corn, Charles. The Scents of Eden: A History of the Spice Trade. New York:
Kodansha International, 1998.
History of the European involvement in the spice trade after the discovery of new
sea routes to the East, from the 16th through the 19th centuries.
● Kurlansky, Mark. Salt: A World History. New York: Walker, Inc., 2002.
The importance of salt as an essential human food and its trade throughout the
world from ancient times to the present.
● Andrews, Jean. The Pepper Trail. Denton, TX: University of North Texas Press,
1999.
Part I, pp. 3 – 49, which describes the migration and influence of capsicum
peppers from the Western Hemisphere to Europe, after the first voyage of
Columbus in 1492, and subsequently around the world.