by James Johnson

Created on: February 02, 2010

Why was food scarce in the Middle Ages?  For this question, there are a whole host of answers, and they are all partly right.  This is because food shortages then are like today, no single cause but a complex interaction of several factors.  Some of the factors resulting in food shortages were due to technology, but most were because of human complications!

The technological problems were numerous and often trivialized by people today.  For starters, now we take pesticides for granted, but there were none for farmers to use between the 5th and 16th centuries, the Middle Ages!  During that time insects were plentiful and they would consume anything available, the people working the land had to control them by hand,  The farmer (or farm hand) would go out, look for the insects and remove them.  This meant the amount of land each person could care for was limited.  The insects destroyed much of the crop, resulting in food shortages. 

There was also little equipment to work the land with.  A farm tractor or combine can work hundreds of acres in a day, a person by hand will handle about three if they are a really hard worker.  There was the plowing and tilling of the soil, the removal of weeds that take nutrients away from the crops and the planting and watering of the seedlings.  Modern irrigation wasn't around then and that can drastically increase yields.

The society was changing and that also resulted in food problems, getting food where it was needed.  Town and villages were increasing and cities were starting to develop.  This means less land was available for growing food and yet more people were in one place, so more food was needed.  It is simple math, 10 people require X amount of food, then add 5 people and decrease the food and you have shortages.  This happened in the Middle Ages due to lack of storage and preservation methods, as well as reduced transportation methods.

There were wars, and not just the ones between countries!  Lords within a country would have feuds and send their people over to raid their neighbor, often destroying the food supply.  The neighbor would return the favor!  This certainly created local shortages during the Middle Ages.  Now they would just sue each other, but everybody would have food!

The farms were also worked by peons and vassals, which were basically slaves by another name.  This destroyed incentive to produce, you grow extra food and it profited you none, the Lord ate well and had bigger families, which meant more mouths for you to feed!  Food shortages stopped that, or at least slowed it down!

Technology, politics, and lack of personal incentive are why food was scarce in the Middle Ages, and why it is in short supply in some places today!

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