Modernity

The modernity period (1860-1930) was a time of large-scale evolution in society, which created advances in technology, food preservation, societal ideas, and nutrition. These factors perpetuated changes in global food systems and improved access to healthier, more sustainable diets. This change in consumer demand and food culture evolved due to a wave of modern ideas regarding practicality and usefulness. Technology, in particular, helped people and commodities move across the globe not only more safely but faster. Automobiles, steam-powered trains, and the internal combustion engine gave people more freedom, but also raised their expectations regarding travel efficiency and access to products from urban to rural areas. Schooling and education awareness became a concern for people in low and middle-income communities at the beginning of the 20th century. Rising literacy rates in society empowered more people to be informed and express their own opinions, contributing to societal progress. During World War I, canned goods fed soldiers in France with corn grown in Iowa. Once canned, this food had a shelf life of years and was easily transportable. After the Great War, prices of canned goods deflated, leading to a fresh wave of consumer demand. Dietary patterns evolved, and the nutritional value of canned goods was improved thanks to mass production and the growth of the preserved food market. In rural communities, canned goods became a convenient supplement that helped complement and complete meals. Canned goods ensured many people across the globe had access to food; in turn, it helped support the growth of the nuclear family. This food security contributed to world population growth. The primary goal of preserved food and canned goods was to ensure affordable foodstuffs with longer shelf life, ease of transportation, and use. The development of canned goods reshaped modern food systems and dietary habits. It provided lasting, affordable food options to expanding populations both before and after The Great War.

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The First World War (1914-1918) accelerated the evolution of the production and consumption of canned goods. During the war, the use of preserved food grew substantially. Military needs were met by improved food production methods and other innovations in the food industry. This surge in canned food production not only played a critical role in wartime logistics but also had lasting effects on global food supply chains and consumer habits in the years that followed. Soldiers were often stationed in remote or hostile environments, where fresh food was difficult to transport and store. Canned food became a reliable and efficient alternative to supply troops with non-perishable meals that could withstand long journeys and harsh conditions. The military relied heavily on canned meats, vegetables, and fruits to feed soldiers. The convenience of canned goods allowed troops to eat soup out of their helmets and open containers with just a knife or spoon. This led to mass production and a new market for food, creating companies like Hormel, Libby’s, and Campbell's. Commercially, these companies grew thanks to their products' affordability and ease of use. The Great War had created a long-term shift in consumer habits. The reliance on canned food in both military and civilian life during the war secured it a permanent place in food culture, especially in urban areas where refrigeration and fresh food delivery were not readily available. Post-war years, according to Tom Geoghegan, food companies like Heinz capitalized on the convenience of canned goods by marketing them as a solution for busy, modern households, or in other words, the average nuclear family. As urban populations grew and women increasingly entered the workforce, canned food became a practical option for quick and easy meals. During this period, many Americans still did not trust consuming canned goods because of reports of death and illness surrounding the topic. A study on this was done by Williams called “1800s Canned Food Timeline | Shelf Stable Food History”. Many other Civilian populations had to cope with food scarcity, and canned goods became a vital source of daily nutrition. Governments in war-affected countries encouraged the consumption of canned goods to help stretch limited supplies of fresh food. With the wartime success of canned food, more civilians began to rely on it to complement their everyday meals. The convenience and long shelf life of preserved foods made them appealing for busy households, especially in urban areas where fresh food was often harder to obtain. After the war, the convenience and reliability of canned goods simplified eating habits, making them a permanent part of modern food culture. This shift not only helped globalize the food industry but also contributed to the development of consumer habits and food preservation technologies that shaped the 20th century and beyond.

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Thomas Malthus’s views on food preservation contributed to the development of canned food, which intersected with the moral contradictions highlighted in his Essay on the Principle of Population (1798), which warned that rapid population growth would eventually outstrip food resources. Malthus's thought-provoking ideas offered a solution to this crisis by suggesting a way to preserve food longer, ensuring that more people could access sustenance even as populations grew. This technological advancement aligned with the moral values of alleviating hunger and providing food security. However, it also sparked moral and societal dilemmas. While canned food helped feed the growing population, it contributed to the industrialization of agriculture, leading to fewer jobs for traditional farmers and a shift towards factory-based work in food processing. This change raised concerns about the future of agricultural employment and the loss of local, sustainable farming practices. Additionally, the rise of canned food led to a more homogenous society as food production became standardized and globalized. While this made food more accessible and affordable, it also eroded the diversity of local food cultures, as regional flavors and culinary traditions were replaced by mass-produced, canned alternatives. Examples of this are people going from rural to more urban environments and forgetting about their own traditional food practices to instead have a quick and easy meal via canned products. In other words, when you turn a farm into a factory, the cost is the diversity of the biome. This shift brought both positive and negative consequences. On the one hand, canned food addressed immediate food security issues, but on the other hand, it diminished the richness of cultural identities and made society more uniform. Thus, Maltheus’s impact on modern society reflects the complex balance between technological progress and its unintended moral and social consequences.

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Canned goods made their way around the United States faster than ever in the Modernity period, thanks to new developments in infrastructure. Innovation in transportation lowered prices and, in turn, created a global consumer culture. In 1910, there were around 500,000 cars in the U.S. (Top Cars by Decade). In 1930, there were approximately 2.8 million cars in the U.S. (America’s Car Museum: Some Cars of the 1930s). With this increase in means of transportation, commerce was faster than ever. Automobiles are much faster and provide a better direct line of travel than the outdated horse and carriage. Although cars were expensive during the 1920s, it was an aspirational purchase amongst the common and upwardly mobile people. Two examples of companies that benefited are Campbell's Soup and H.J. Heinz. Hoover states in the “Brand Man: The HJ Heinz Story” that Heinz sales increased exponentially thanks to new innovations contributing to the success of the company. Trains made it faster for commodities to get from the port to the destination, thus aiding canned goods marketability. This could not be done without the cans having a long shelf life. These improvements in general transportation led to a decrease in the price of canned goods. The invention of the car supplied the general public with more access than ever to canned goods. The average canned food price in markets deflated, decreasing from eight cents per can in 1880 to just two cents in 1920, according to the report of the “U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics”. These technological innovations did not just impact the U.S.; they were also part of a larger global shift. According to “The Globalization of Food: Canned Goods and Beyond”, by the 1930s, American canned food companies were exporting products to Europe, Latin America, and even Asia, significantly altering global dietary patterns. Canned foods, once considered a niche product, were now part of everyday life in many parts of the world. The global spread of canned foods helped standardize certain consumer expectations, such as the desire for convenience, longer shelf lives, and affordability. The proliferation of canned goods, powered by the automobile and modern advertising, played a key role in creating the global consumer culture we recognize today. Many rural communities became accustomed to canned foods despite having been farm-based communities in the past. In the 1920s, Ringer believed many people in those rural, poorer communities became dependent on canned foods for survival, especially if their crops were failing. Without innovations in transportation, many people would have starved because of common crop diseases during this time, like “Wheat Scab”. Cars and new technology impacted the canned food industry and the U.S. economy greatly. This, combined with other inventions, contributed to creating a strong global consumer culture. Global expectations regarding nutrition and daily eating habits evolved.

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Between 1860 and 1930, the preservation of food nutrients underwent significant advancements, mirroring the broader transformations in food culture during the modern period. In particular, canned good nutrients have changed substantially, going from poor to more sustainable and enriching. Canned foods in 1930 retained more vitamins in comparison to the finite amount in the 1860s. According to Arnold Ehret, across the modernity period, Vitamin C loss was still significant because of the common heating process the can went through. The heating process was never really updated until a more modern era (around 1960) extended the exposure of Vitamin C to high temperatures. The extreme heating process broke down the vitamins. Initially, intended to destroy any pathogens within the product, but it degraded the quality of the vitamins in the canned goods, especially Vitamin C. In the early days of canning, sugar was primarily used in fruits and fruit-based products. Sugar, in high concentration, acted as a preservative, preventing the growth of microorganisms that could spoil the food. Prior to this, during the 1860s to 1880s, sugar-sweetened fruit products. These products were often considered luxury items for the upper class because of the high cost of preserving fruit in this way. In the 1890s and early 20th century, with the breakthrough of technological advancements such as heating and steam pressurizing tin cans, sugar use in the canned food industry expanded beyond fruit. Sugar was introduced to canned vegetables (e.g., corn, peas). Sugar was added to help with the preservation and also to appeal to consumers’ evolving tastes. After the First World War, sweetened canned goods grew in demand, and the price dropped because of the invention and adaptation of the assembly line and mass production. This led to a newfound crisis in society, type two Diabetes. In today's world “added-sugar” is in many preserved products and puts people's health at risk. What started as a way to help preserve food products now has a license to kill, since type 2 diabetes is at an all-time high. A 2019 study shows that roughly 463 million adults globally were living with type 2 diabetes according to the International Diabetes Federation (IDF). The even bigger problem is for those “at risk” for type two diabetes. Two in every five adults, or approximately one point nine billion people, are at risk of developing type 2 diabetes. This is especially prevalent in cultures who had a dramatic change in food culture. An example of this would be in Qatar. Qatar has developed into a “modern country”. They have imported a foreign diet and the problems that come with it. As a result, 20% of the population has type two diabetes due to a new westernized diet, according to the World Health Organization. In today's world, products such as cereal, jarred sauces, most canned fruit, soft drinks, juices, and most basic preserved foods all have added sugar to “enhance taste”. It is, in reality, just a way to appeal to your sweet tooth at the expense of your health. This by-product of a modern diet stems from society's change from traditional native meals to a Western diet and the development of using sugar to preserve food and enhance its taste.

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Malthus’s cautionary message about the unintended consequences of technological progress rings true in today’s world. Innovations designed to address crises can also give rise to moral and societal complications. Much like the fictional solution to overpopulation proposed by the Marvel Comics villain Thanos. He proposes that the mass reduction of people via a magical snap would ensure population correction and universal sustainability. In particular, he goes from planet to planet randomly eliminating 50% of the population. While solving one problem, Thanos’s approach raises profound ethical and existential dilemmas that highlight the complexities of such a "solution." First, the moral cost of mass genocide, even if framed as necessary for the greater good, cannot be ignored. Thanos’s plan to solve the overpopulation crisis is inhumane and disregards the inherent value of human life. Similarly, the rise of technologies like AI or the new idea of space colonization through companies like SpaceX offer potential ways to solve problems like overpopulation, but they come with their own set of risks. In space, we would need food for our travel to not only our new home but also while we are there. Preserved and pre-packaged food will become essential to mission success, creating new and unintended consequences. While these resources are essential for survival, they also contribute to population growth, which in turn exacerbates the very issues they are meant to alleviate. In a sense, the very tools designed to sustain us may also fuel the ongoing cycle of overpopulation, making it a dilemma that may never be fully resolved. To solve the challenge, we must prioritize sustainable growth by balancing technological advancements with ethical considerations, ensuring that solutions like space colonization or AI do not inadvertently add insult to injury. We should invest in long-term strategies like resource efficiency, renewable energy, and easier access to food, while also increasing global awareness on population management that respects human moral values. Ultimately, we need to develop solutions that address the root causes of overpopulation, such as inadequate healthcare and a lack of education, while ensuring that innovation serves humanity without compromising future generations' ability to thrive.

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The time from 1860 to 1930 was a whirlwind of transformative thought, processes, and ideas, reshaping the world in complex ways. Malthus's ideas on overpopulation inspired a paradigm shift and supported the paradox of canned goods. A solution to this problem is to focus on resource sustainability rather than just short-circuiting our own common sense. Just as the canned food industry evolved, we must continue to adapt, ensuring that solutions to crises do not merely mask underlying issues but provide long-term, holistic benefits for future generations. World War One was the first time in history when global conflict involved such a large number of Nations, reshaping international relations forever. With men far away from home, preserved food and canned goods were extremely important to keep soldiers fed. They were easy to transport and stayed good for years. After the war, there was a big shift in global consumer habits. Meals were easier and more convenient to make with canned goods. Nutrition in canned goods changed as well. Added sugars have run rampant in canned goods, contributing to the growing rate of present-day type 2 diabetes. This was all possible due to the new industrial inventions and processes made during the modern period. Unfortunately, the cost is a society where food diversity and traditional food culture are diminished. Canned goods revolutionized food accessibility and convenience; their legacy serves as a reminder of the delicate balance between progress and its unintended consequences lurking in the shadows. So, we as a society need to rethink how we preserve and consume food in a sustainable, health-conscious future.

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My product is two 3-D printed cans with labels I created with metal filament. The labels and shape of the cans are inspired by the labels and different types of canned goods during the Modern time period. Inside each canned good represents something different, thus making them all unique in the ways they contribute to society.