Category: History

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George Orwell and Food Security

George Orwell’s diaries are being posted to the web day by day, and we’ve noted some of his concerns about food and its production before. Seventy years ago, he had this to say about the value of food in times of crisis:

Sowed while at Wallington 40 or 50 lb. of potatoes, which might give 200 or 600 lbs. according to the season, etc. It would be queer – I hope it won’t be so, but it quite well may – if when this autumn comes those potatoes seem a more important achievement than all the articles, broadcasts, etc. I shall have done this year.

That he was even thinking such thoughts is interesting. Three days later he was musing about the conflict between “useless” animals and people over limited resources:

There are said to be still 2,000 racehorses in England, each of which will be eating 10-15 lb. of grain a day. I.e. these brutes are devouring every day the equivalent of the bread ration of a division of troops.

What did happen to racehorses during the war?

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Athena’s olive tree

Erechtheum by luigig
Erechtheum, a photo by luigig on Flickr.

“Legend … says that this olive tree can be traced back to the tree originally planted by Athena here. Every invader cut it down and every time someone saved a sprig to be planted later. The most recent replanting was done by members of the American School in 1952 who saved it bit from what the Germans destroyed in 1942.”

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Nibbles: Plectranthus, Roads, Fast food, Dog food, Hybrid rice, Mapping climate change, Turf, Cassava, iPhone app, Zizania, Rice

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Access to Arabic farming handbooks

The question of how farming originally spread across Europe continues to exercise scholars, although I reckon a fair conclusion today is that the farmers (and their crops and livestock) moved, rather than just their technology (and crops and livestock). At least, that’s true for pre-history. For more recent times, it is clear that knowledge travelled, and one way it did so was in a series of texts in Arabic known collectively as the Kutub al-Filāḥa or ‘Books of Husbandry’. This fantastic historical resource is now available online at the The Filāḥa Texts Project. Alas, there doesn’t seem to be a feed of any kind to tell me when new material is posted, but it is possible to join the project network. I have nothing to offer but my interest; I hope that’s enough.

And thanks to Rachel Laudan, where I learned of the project. She has already raised the fascinating possibility that light will in future be shed on how Arabic influences travelled from Spain to Mexico.

Stop Press: Razib Khan at Gene Expression explains how farmers conquered Eurasia between 10,000 and 5,000 years ago.