Changes in food consumption in Iceland, 1770–1940

Abstract

The history of food consumption in Iceland differs in many fundamental ways from that in the rest of Europe. The prominence of domestically produced dairy products, fish, meat and suet, and the insignificance of cereals until the nineteenth century, are among the most unusual features. This paper presents the first attempt to estimate total food consumption in Iceland on the basis of food supply data, covering the period 1770–1940. The data, derived from trade statistics, production statistics and the author’s current study of Iceland’s GNp, provides information on the level of consumption, on the composition and the nutritional value of the diet, and on the changing patterns of consumption. In general terms, this can be described as a transition from an animal-based to a more grain-based diet. A short discussion on the causes of dietary change, and its effects on the nutrional status of Icelanders and on population growth, concludes the paper.