Healthy, Safe and Sustainable

Postwar economic and political developments in Europe stimulated a tremendous growth in food production and distribution. In the Netherlands, as in other Western European countries, this was based on the principles of agricultural intensification and the systematic application of economic rationality in the food system. On-going processes of specialization and product differentiation resulted in what came to be known as the ‘mainstream food system’. Development in food processing technologies as well as innovations in marketing and retailing resulted in food products that complied with emerging demands for diversity and convenience. This post-war food regime built on preceding phases of industrialization in the food system. ¹ Earlier innovations, from the 1890s onward, such as the mechanization of agricultural practices and the systematic application of biochemistry, started a fundamental shift away from traditional modes of crop cultivation, animal breeding and food processing. Simultaneously, visions about food quality, availability and safety evolved and guided further developments. Together with these emerging visions a new actor entered the scene: the consumer. Whereas foodstuffs obviously had been consumed throughout the ages, in the aftermath of WWII, the act of consuming came to be viewed as an identifiable activity in its own right. ‘The consumer’ as an economic, cultural and potentially political actor was born. Furthermore, together with the identification of the consumer per se came an interest for the visions that guide consumption practices. Such visions, as expressed in the debates on food, came time and again to the center of consumers’ attention or of their self-appointed representatives.