THEME: Food in crisis THEME FOOD CRISES IN THE ROMAN WORLD
Food consumption in a complex society is the end result of the interaction of agricultural, logistical, economic, and political factors, all of which have the potential to disrupt the food supply. To begin with, crops are at the mercy of the weather, and this was certainly true in those parts of the Mediterranean his was certainly true in those parts of the Mediterranean where the average annual rainfall is barely sufficient for the cultivation of cereals, legumes, and vegetables. Too little rain, or too much, could cause yields to drop. Shortages may be unrelated to crop failures. Cities that depended on outside supply were vulnerable to transportation breakdown or the obstruction of supply channels, such as bad weather or the interruption of sailing in the winter months. Building up reserves until shipping resumed in the spring was a constant problem. Tacitus ( 4.52) claims that in the spring of AD 70 there were only ten days’ worth of grain
