Storage and starvation: public granaries as agents of "food security" in early modern Europe

In: Historical social research: HSR-Retrospective (HSR-Retro) = Historische Sozialforschung, Band 35, Heft 4, S. 234-252

Abstract

"The development of the 'food security' concept in the 1990s marked a significant change away from state-centered strategies that focused on food availability, towards policies aimed at food access and strengthening individual 'entitlements' (A. Sen) to food. This essay applies the food security approach to early modern food regimes, drawing on the example of the state-granary system in 18th century Prussia to investigate their agents, zones of conflict, and limits. The evident failure of technology-centered approaches raises questions about established periodizations, and modernization narratives on the 'great escape' from hunger. The granary as a 'technology of risk' illustrates the social construction of 'security' through the labeling of security providers and security takers as well as the performance of exclusion and inclusion." (author's abstract)