ABSTRACT
The post–World War II era witnessed a fundamental transformation of the global food system. This chapter discusses the commodification of food in political and economic terms from the end of World War II through the contemporary era. The commodification of food over time, gave the market the central role in determining food production and consumption, as the dominant allocation mechanism. The commodification of food should not be seen as the natural status of food itself, but as the result of a long and contested historical—and political—process. The distancing of food production and consumption chains paralleled the development and introduction of new technologies in the household. The development of more integrated markets at the national level led to a decline in regional foods, as regional diets yielded to more uniform tastes, signaled most clearly by the displacement of local restaurants by regional, national, and increasingly international franchise chains offering uniform food around the world.
