Milk in Spain and the History of Diet Change - (Food in Modern History: Traditions and Innovations) by Fernando Collantes (Hardcover)

About the Book

A quantitative and qualitative study of dairy consumption in Spain since 1950 to explore the history of diet change and its consequences on society.

Book Synopsis

In barely three generations the Spanish diet has changed beyond recognition. The traditional concerns around nutritional health and scarcity have been mostly left behind, but they have given way to new problems linked to excess. In this book Fernando Collantes shows how the dairy industry has been central to this societal shift. From widespread calcium deficiency in the 1950s to the more recent, and controversial, turn to highly processed foods, it provides a recent history of diet change in Spain. Probing the reasons behind why this shift has occurred, and how, it shows that when it comes to food society, politics, economics and the law are intrinsically linked.

Taking the reader beyond the world of food, Milk in Spain and the History of Diet Change combines qualitative and quantitative methods to position diet change within the broader debate on consumer society and 'the good life'. Contrasting two models of food consumption, it shows that unless public policy takes the challenge of affluence seriously, the food system can become an obstacle to a better society.

Review Quotes

"Based on an innovative bridge between Schumpeter and Braudel, applied to a thorough empirical and theoretical work, Fernando Collantes delivers in this book not only a detailed account of the Spanish diet since the 1950s, but also a challenging account of the long term evolution of a major factor for all societies: the access and quality of food. This is nothing less than a new vision of the material roots of historical evolution, conflicts and innovation." --Francisco Louçã, University of Lisbon, Portugal

"This book addresses a big issue through the lens of milk and dairy products: how societies in Western consumer capitalism have changed dietary patterns. The author adopts an original approach that integrates domains such as macroeconomics, microeconomics and consumer culture. This book will be relevant not only for historically interested readers but also for citizens engaged in current debates on sustainable food." --Ernst Langthaler, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria

"An excellent work. This rigorous and comprehensive analysis of milk and dairy products, and their two models of consumption in contemporary Spain, offers an in-depth study of their fundamental role in the evolution, transformation, and globalisation of the Spanish diet within the context of modern nutritional transition." --Xavier Cussó, Associate Lecturer of Economic and Social History, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

"This book reflects on the dramatic secular sequence of the rise and fall of good nutrition in Spain, through the study of the evolution of dairy consumption. Its analysis masterfully demonstrates how, starting from a low nutritional level and minimal dairy consumption, there was a phase of widespread consumption of industrial milk (1950-90), followed by a period (1990-2020) where dairy consumption diversified into other derived products, although total dairy consumption declined, and the initial poor nutritional level was resumed. Public policies need to be implemented in response, and this careful research contributes significantly to that discussion." --Luis German, Professor of Economic and Social History, University of Zaragoza

"This book revolutionizes our understanding of modern diets, revealing how economic and cultural changes have transformed nutrition in Spain and highlighting the urgent need for public policies to ensure healthy eating. Written in an accessible and rigorous manner, it offers valuable insights for all those interested in nutrition and public health, and thus will be appreciated by both specialists and the general public. A fundamental book." --José Miguel Martínez Carrión, Professor of Economic and Social History, University of Murcia

"It is inevitable to recall Sidney Mintz's Sweetness and Power when reading Fernando Collantes. Just as sugar was the guiding thread for the anthropologist to explain social changes, Collantes reviews the dietary changes in our history through milk. An excellent piece of work, meticulously handling data and arguments, which makes us reflect on how much we have changed in Spain, but also on what remains to be done in a global society where food, in this case milk, no longer circulates as sustenance but merely as another commodity." --Cecilia Diaz Méndez, Professor of Sociology, University of Oviedo

"Fresh milk's appeal has dwindled as consumers favour plant-based drinks and gourmet yogurts and cheeses. Spain's late adoption and early shift out of fresh milk highlight a broader trend: people often do not act in their own best interests. This stimulating book examines the reasons behind these choices, revealing the complex interplay between health, commercial innovation, culture, and consumer behaviour. A thought-provoking exploration of how food choices reflect deeper societal shifts. " --Avner Offer, University of Oxford, UK

"A triumph of food history! This is an important book on changing food systems since 1950. While it focuses on Spain, it has wider implications for dietary shifts and the food industry in Western Europe. Milk is the product under consideration and Fernando Collantes cleverly teases out the main trends in supply and consumption using a combination of detailed empirical evidence and explanatory theoretical models. The result is a satisfying mix of nutritional, economic, and socio-cultural insights. While it may seem obvious - 'blanco y en botella, leche' - I now realise that the story of milk is complex, and this book should be read by anyone interested in the trends behind modern food history. " --Peter Atkins, Durham University, UK

About the Author

Fernando Collantes is Associate Professor of Socio-Economic History at University of Oviedo, Spain. He is the author of Peaceful surrender: the depopulation of rural Spain in the twentieth century (with Vicente Pinilla 2011) and The political economy of the Common Agricultural Policy: coordinated capitalism or bureaucratic monster? (2020).