ABSTRACT
The provision of foodstuffs has long been a feature of relations between rulers and ruled. Today, bread subsidies are one of the most ubiquitous welfare programs in the Middle East and North Africa. Yet while bread’s importance is apparent to inhabitants of the region scholars remain, for the most part, unable to understand or explain the foodstuff’s significance, meaning and magnitude beyond fuzzy notions of a social contract. Questions abound. After a brief excursus on the development of subsidy systems in the region, this chapter reflects on just some of the ways we can scrutinize bread.
