Famine and the Science of Food in the French Empire, 1900–1939

Between 1900 and 1939, the French empire devoted increasing attention to the problems of hunger and famine in the colonies. Influenced by discoveries associated with the emerging science of nutrition and under pressure from international organizations such as the League of Nations, French colonial a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	French politics, culture and society culture and society, 2018-03, Vol.36 (1), p.52-75
Main Author:	Slobodkin, Yan
Format:	Article
Language:	eng
Subjects:	20th century Administrators Analysis Colonial administration Colonialism Colonies & territories Famine Famines Food science Food security Food supply France Health problems Healthy food History Hunger Imperialism International organizations Justification Labor productivity Management National security Nutrition Productivity Public administration Public health Public health administration Scientists
Online Access:	Get full text
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Summary:	Between 1900 and 1939, the French empire devoted increasing attention to the problems of hunger and famine in the colonies. Influenced by discoveries associated with the emerging science of nutrition and under pressure from international organizations such as the League of Nations, French colonial administrations accepted food security as their most basic responsibility to their territories overseas. French scientists and administrators applied nutritional insights first to individuals in the fight against deficiency disease, then to “races” in an attempt to increase labor productivity, and finally to colonial populations as a whole. But as increasingly sophisticated notions of nutrition and public health influenced colonial administration, it became clear that the lofty promises of nutrition science were empty in a context in which subjects struggled to achieve minimum subsistence. The inability of the French empire to fulfill its responsibilities undermined the ideological justification for colonialism.
ISSN:	1537-6370 1558-5271