Oceans of Grain

The story of grain is older than recorded history.

The Arab Spring rebellions in the 21st century are just the latest examples of how the price of bread can trigger political events. The desire to control grain trading routes – the Bosporus Strait acted as a “pinch point” in grain transport for thousands of years – was central to a host of 18th- and 19th-century conflicts in Europe and Asia. Grain exports played a prime role in America’s Civil War, the development of the US interstate transportation system and the dwindling of Old World agricultural empires. The grain trade even had a part in the complex causes and events of World War I: Russia and France’s fears about Germany’s power over Middle Eastern trade routes helped spark the conflict. Restricted grain imports during the war led to near starvation and food riots during Germany’s “Turnip Winter” in 1916.

Archeology shows that humans have been eating bread, in some form, for more than 14,000 years. The English language itself evidences the centrality of bread in human society: The word “lord” comes from the ancient word “hlaford,” which means...