ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the quantitative backbone of the Norse Greenlanders' food production, and it came as no surprise that it was milk and meat from domestic animals. The historical sources for Norwegian and Icelandic food production are far richer than those from Greenland. Lofoten had the richest fisheries, and the pigs' main food was fish. The peasants fed other animals indoors only when ice or thick snow made it difficult or impossible for the animals to reach their food. Resources which were open to all, benefitted most those of limited means and could function as a security net in years when food production from animal husbandry failed. The assumption that seal was hunted only or mainly because it was needed for food lacks an empirical basis. Food production was more stretched out over the whole year. The seal hunt functioned as a safety net in lean years and provided a food reserve which in practice was inexhaustible, albeit unattractive.
