Cities and milk consumption in Europe, 1890-1936: the emergence of a new market in Spain

Abstract:In this article we discuss an aspect of economic growth that has not been the subject of much consideration in economic and agrarian history to date: the effect of biological innovations on farming development between the mid nineteenth century and the 1930s. We have focused on dairy farming for two reasons. Firstly, dairy farming played a relevant economic role in a number of European regions during this period. Secondly, one of its products, liquid milk, was probably the most significant food during the early stages of the European nutrition transition. We present new statistical data for the evolution of dairy farming in different Northern European countries as well as Spain, and evaluate the impact of cattle population and milk yields in each case. We also link milk yields and the availability of fodder, but special attention is paid to the breeds kept and techniques for their improvement. The article shows that cattle improvement played a significant role in Central and Northern Europe from the mid nineteenth century, but that this was not the case in Spain. Improvement through inbreeding was soon discarded in Spain, absorbent crossbreeding failed, and the sector became dependent on foreign imports of bulls and cows, first from Switzerland and later from Holland. By taking these factors into consideration we can better understand why the dairy sector in Mediterranean Europe did not really begin until the late nineteenth century and why it stagnated in the wake of the First World War.

show abstract

“… 1. Concerning supply and transportation, see Atkins (1980), Hernández y Pujol (2016), Orland (2005). …”

Section: Notesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Economic Growth and Biological Innovation: The Development of the European Dairy Sector, 1865–1940

Adell¹,

Pujol

2016

Rural History

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The many studies carried out for Spain on the nutritional changes among the different population groups show that the greatest progress was made in the twentieth century due to the intensity of the socioeconomic and demographic transformations. However, in the principal cities, these improvements were not evident until the end of the nineteenth century (Calatayud and Medina, 2017;Cussó et al 2018;García and Trescastro, 2017;Garrabou and Cusso, 2009;González de Molina et al, 2014;Hernández and Pujol, 2017;Hernández et al, 2019;Pujol, 2005g Pujol andCussó, 2014;Langreo and Germán, 2018;Calatayud, 2020, 2021). The environmental and technological changes that led to modern economic growth modified the patterns of production and food consumption, reduced the high mortality and fertility rates and, as a result, altered the family composition and the demand for nutrients from the very beginning of the twentieth century.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Poor but tall. The height premium in the Canary Islands at the beginning of nutritional transition

Martínez-Carrión¹,

Candela-Martínez²,

Cervantes³

et al. 2023

Inequality and Nutritional Transition in Economic History

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This article explores the beginnings of the nutritional transition in relation to height in male populations of the Canary Islands. With military recruitment data for the cohorts of 1860 and 1915, it shows the insular advantage (height premium) compared to the average height of the Spanish populations of the Iberian Peninsula. The secular trend for height was positive. The increase in height of 2.4 cm during the expansive cycle of the island economy was comparable to that of the Spanish average. It also highlights the biological variability of the heights, probably due to the genetic composition of the island populations, and that the average urban height was greater than the average rural height. Finally, we find that height inequality increased in years when average height decreased, especially between 1866-80 and 1900-1905. The Canarian height premium is analyzed based on the insular environment, climate, economic cycles, and diet.

show abstract

The urban–rural height gap: evidence from late nineteenth-century Catalonia

Ramón-Muñoz

Ramon-Muñoz

2023

Cliometrica

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This paper aims to establish whether there was a gap in biological living standards between urban and rural areas in late nineteenth-century Catalonia, and if so, to determine its extent. The study makes use of a large new dataset based on military records for the cohort of males born in the year 1890 and enlisted in the year 1911. By combining individual heights with information at municipal level, we conclude that the 1890 cohort of conscripts living in rural areas were shorter than those that resided in towns and cities with populations of more than 20,000 people. We also hypothesise about the reasons why urban dwellers in late nineteenth-century Catalonia were taller than their rural counterparts by considering the potential role of rural–urban migration, improvements in public sanitation and health care, and progresses in the quantity and quality of food availability for urban dwellers.

show abstract

Cities and milk consumption in Europe, 1890-1936: the emergence of a new market in Spain

Cited by 6 publications

References 34 publications

Economic Growth and Biological Innovation: The Development of the European Dairy Sector, 1865–1940

Economic Growth and Biological Innovation: The Development of the European Dairy Sector, 1865–1940

Poor but tall. The height premium in the Canary Islands at the beginning of nutritional transition

The urban–rural height gap: evidence from late nineteenth-century Catalonia

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About