We Built This City (On Bread and Rolls)

“In this food I see clearly the presence of the entire universe supporting my existence.” ~Thich Nhat Hanh

Sociologists study the intricacies of human interaction, particularly on a group scale. Yet for years, the subject of food and its relationship to the human social network was largely ignored by sociologists. This seems strange, since food was the basis of civilization. Food is also where urban sociology and rural sociology converge. Cities, while apparently removed from the natural environment, cannot be sustained without agriculture. Human civilization was literally built on food.

In this TED talk, Carolyn Steel, architect and author of Hungry City: How Food Shapes Our Lives, describes “how ancient food routes shaped our modern world”. 

Prior to the advent of agriculture, humans invariably lived a nomadic existence: wandering about in search of whatever food they could find. The “Fertile Crescent” became the cradle of civilization because the flooding of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers provided people with fertile, moist soil in which to grow crops. The same thing happened along the Nile and Indus rivers as well. As people’s crops grew roots in the soil, so too did the people become “rooted” themselves, and towns were born. Advances in agricultural methods then allowed farmers to produce a surplus, and this is what led to the development of cities and stratification in society.

For thousands of years, cities flourished in landscapes that were accessible to water. Water was essential not only for irrigation, but also for trade, and food was an important commodity. Food was also central to virtually all religions, for thousands of years. Then the Industrial Revolution gave us the railway system and the automobile. These technologies ultimately led to a gross urban expansion, as cities no longer had to be dependent on water in order to bring in food and other commodities. Now we produce more food than we actually eat, and a portion of the population is obese while another portion goes hungry. As Carolyn Steel points out, we no longer value food because we are so separated from the process of its production. We'll explore this more in later posts.

Recipe of the Week

Since food is the central theme of this blog, I plan to punctuate each entry with a recipe that relates to our weekly topic. In keeping with this week's discussion of agriculture and civilization, what could be more appropriate than bread? The word companion literally means "one who shares bread". This is an excellent example of how social relationships have historically been formed and defined according to food, and eating customs and habits.

So, my blogging companions, I would like to direct you to Steamy Kitchen's blog entry for No-Knead Bread. ("So easy a 4-yr. old can make it!") I make this bread often and it really is that simple.