Potatoes, Populations, and States

Today, dietary guidelines, healthy-eating pyramids, and other nutritional advice are a familiar expected feature of governance. It was not always so. What we eat has been such interest to the state. That people ate course very important; since ancient times rulers have feared disruptive effects famine. The minutiae what ordinary folk ate, in contrast, rarely considered an important component statecraft. Over eighteenth century, however, diet working acquired unprecedented importance within European notions statecraft, because its perceived capacity foster or impede development higher-quality population. This article reviews these developments, show how during Enlightenment, everyday eating habits political relevance. Although scholars often identify twentieth century as period when food became object governance, food's instrument modern statecraft much longer history.