This book chronicles the history of food it starts with the columbian exchange a term coined in 1972 by the historian alfred crosby to refer to the flow of plants animals and microbes across the atlantic ocean and beyond. The oxford handbook of food history places existing works in historiographical context crossing disciplinary chronological and geographic boundaries while also suggesting new routes for future research the twenty seven essays in this book are organized into five sections historiography disciplinary approaches production circulation and consumption of food the first two sections . Societys greatest use of water is in food production a fact that puts farmers centre stage in global environmental management current management of food value chains however is not well set up to enable farmers to undertake their dual role of feeding a growing population and stewarding natural resources this book considers the interconnected issues of real water in the environment and . Because of its essential role in human life food has been a part of historical narratives since antiquity as the proper subject of professional inquiry however food gained recognition only in the 1990s with the advent of the so called new cultural history whereas the disciplinary hegemony of culture has begun to fragment and decline the field of food history continues to grow significantly. The oxford handbook of food history places existing works in historiographical context crossing disciplinary chronological and geographic boundaries while also suggesting new routes for future