Six Thousand Years of Bread: Its Holy and Unholy History

Book by H.E. Jacob

Presentation by Kaite Zhang

Bread is power!!!

Highlights

the origins of agriculture

different types of grain—and their effects on world history

religion

politics

technology

science

culture

Origins of AgricultureTheories and Stories

Theories: Origin of Agriculture

antsobserved sowing, cultivating, harvesting grain-bearing grass (Dr. Gideon Lincecum, “father of plants”)

fluke

prehistoric manmuch like the ants

left seeds in dry spot, dry spot no longer, returning vegetation

Invention: the Plow

“the grubbing stick”prehistoric women of the household—garden

first hoe

plow: theorystuck in soil

oxen—could pull forward but not upward

Symbolism

earth—“Mother Earth”

first grain—“Father Millet”

“mother” receives the seed of “father”gods of grain also gods of fertility

wind: adultery and thieveryseeds light enough to be blown away

protected by plowing

selective breeding

Grain in the Ancient WorldEgyptIsraelGreeceRome

Egypt

Nile—giftsurplus

first developed the method for making bread (with fermentation)

did not fight decay

giant cone-like ovens made of brick

culture + economywages, taxes paid in breads

saved in tombs

Israelnomads—did not settle into Israel until after running from Egypt

not good for baking (no permanence, no time)

after settling—occupation of bakers

religious significancebroke bread; symbol of God Jehovah (Canaan)

unleavened (un-risen)—reflection of nomadic life

not holy but important

cultural significance: burden of farming

Greecenot as fertile as Egyptgrain = basis for legends and religions

Demeter: legend with Persephone, Triptolemos, and Hades, explanation for winterempathy: POV from the farmer, miller-girl, and the grainBread Church of Eleusis

connected to Triptolemos pray here and receive blessings from Demeter politically independent“celebration of the bread”

Romerevision of Demeter: Ceres

reputation of miller/bakerhighly skilled craft; high repute

politicsbakers made to be officials and put in seats of office—Proculus second mayor of Pompeii (no-no)

downfall of Empire—bread-producingburden of farming (one serf vs. one lord)—trading across empire, downfall

led to self-sufficient areas; dropped all but Egypt

Jesus Christ“the bread god”—creates bread out of thin air

known to have made five loaves of bread seem like five hundred

believed at time due to Egyptian magicians and Assyrian astrologers

more likely to have been powers of suggestion

“I am the bread”bread so important as to be the son of god? God is bread?

cannibalism vs. symbolism

Bread in the Middle AgesAfter the Fall of Rome

Battle of the Grains

wheatprevalent

flavorful

changes from food of the rich to staple food

ryedarker, considered less sophisticated in western Europe

generally the staple of the northern Europeans

oatsanimal feed

rarely eaten, even in times of famine

Barbarian Agriculturereluctant to adapt

originally nomads

unequal distribution of harvest slavery

slaveryserf—security for labor

culturemagic chants to wind god (prevalent)

“wicked corn mother”

“Christianization” of “barbarians” at the hands of monks and “saints”

“The Miller Was an Evil Man”…

mills vs. German water and wind spirits

millers did not “belong” to the town

millers eventually taken over by government

who owns the land, owns the mill

knocked out of a once-profitable job

forced to steal

…“And the Baker Starved Us”

baker was almost as hated as miller

quality of bread measured quality of baker

did he laugh “when the poor man weeps”?

along with the miller, the causes of hunger

began mixing various things—bark, straw, soil—with flour during famine

Influence of the Bleeding Bread

holy wafers (the Host) of the church were thought to have been bleeding

due to a misprint, thought to have been “pierced” or “stabbed”

Jews blamed--did not believe in Christ = bread

pierced bread = crucified Christ

turned out to be a red mold

The Peasant

long looked down upon + made fun of by burghs and elite

uneducated (no Latin, no Bible, no connection to God)Martin Luther (betrayed peasants)

translated Bible into vernacular understanding of rights under God hope + determination, willing to fight for fairness

– twelve “fundamental and correct chief articles of the peasants”

CornThe Wheat of the Americas

Corn as a Staple

grows much faster than wheat—three months versus eight

no need for plowingSouthern American Native Americans had no plows, only simple spades

Native American people had no history of famine, unlike Europe

corn taught by Squanto to “the” Pilgrims

allowed Americans to eat “anything”

Corn and the Culturethrived due to corn

felt that prosperity must be maintained

human sacrifices to goddess of young maize

handsome youth selected from prisoners of war

– celebrated as king until time of sacrifice– corpse carried down gracefully

had something similar to bread = Christate baked corn meal and drank human blood as eating their god Vitzilopochtl

Tradecorn

traveled to Europe due to Spanish explorers

became favorite of southeastern Europe to be made into porridge

due to discoveries of disease, maize unpopular in France and Italy

potatoat first thought unusual; “roots” edible, berries not?became staple of northeastern Europe (Ireland)Ireland Potato Famine (potato blight)

Bread is Greater than CottonCivil War; abolition began with the whites

bread = food, cotton = textile

although South had cotton exports and money, did not have enough food

flour cost $120.00 per barrel

meanwhile, no soldiers went hungry in the North

barricaded trade

America as Wheat Empiremarked decline of Russia’s bread

exported wheat to non-corn-eating Europeans

Europe had poor soil

internal unrest in England: tarriff

less success in rice-based Asia, but magic attracted

immigration

supported by railroads along which traveled wheat and corn

Chicago: millionaires of railroads

Bread in the 20th CenturyWorld War IRise of the American Peasant World War II

World War I: Victory to BreadBritish blockade—starving during the war

sufficient grain, insufficient feed

railroads inadequate; decayed

scientific experiments“artificial grain” (think…soil + pine bark)

encouraged soldiers to fight on

WWI may have possibly ended two years earlier

America: neutral, “wheat dealers” in control (of bread, in control of life)

The Party of the Bread

a growing industry fueled a surplus of grain

stock markets (grain markets)

gave farmers more powertremendous influence on both Democrats and Republicans

finally, the backbone receives their share

World War II

learned from WWI—rye

Nazi Germany: agrophiles or agrophobes?

Hitler unfavorable to peasantry; reminds him of self

“pacte de famine”famine used as a weapon of war

as Germany power spread, only those who served the Third Reich could eat (plundered food)

Miscellaneous Bread TechnologyImpact on the World

Bread Technology

the plow

reaper (1825ish)Cyrus McCormick, Obed Hussey

allowed one man to do the work of many, be it four or twelve

modern mill (Müller + Sulzberger, 1830)

could now grind tough North

Bread Technology (cont.)

artificial fertilizer (Liebig, 1840ish?) discovered plants did not need decaying matter; needed inorganic matterartificial fertilizer provided inorganic matter more efficiently than manure

botany (Mendel, 18601900)introduced the idea of purposely improving the plant as well as the soil

mass-production of bread (Ward, p.m. 1930s)

“from mill to mouth” all mechanical

World Impact

motivation for scientific advancementstechnology

biology/chemistry

basis for religions (Christ) and legends (Demeter)

bread is powerbread is food/nutrition

he who controls the bread has the means to become emperor

hunger fuels the human psyche