HUMSS - Julia Torrie

Frozen Food and Empire: An Introduction

Julia Torrie’s presentation will explore connections between industrial freezing and imperialism from the 1890’s through the 1970’s.  Using a long time-frame and applying a wide geography reveals that prioritizing empire-building motivated the spread of freezing, and the diffusion of freezing enabled empire.  Freezing offers a window into political, economic and cultural rivalries and shifting global power relations at a time when formal, political ties were increasingly being replaced by economic and resource-based imperialism.  More broadly, this research contributes to understanding the roots of ongoing power imbalances between areas often thought of as peripheral, where agricultural products are produced and frozen, and metropoles, where they are typically consumed.

Material for preparation:

Torrie - Frozen Food and National Socialist Expansionism