Foodstuffs imports and diet change in Cyprus, 1881–1946/7
Date
2015
Authors
Kazamias, Georgios
Panayiotou, Maria
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Modern Greek Studies Association of Australia and New Zealand
Rights
© 2015, Modern Greek Studies Association of Australia and New Zealand
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in
any form or by any means electronic, mechanical or otherwise without the prior permission of the publisher.
Rights Holder
Copyright in each contribution to this journal belongs to its author.
Abstract
Using information from the import statistics found in the Cyprus Blue Books, this
paper aims to examine the trends of diet change in Cyprus, in the period 1881–1948.
Data on imported foodstuffs as reported in the Blue Books published in the Census
Years (1881, 1891, 1901, 1911, 1921, 1931, 1946) is collected; the special focus is on (a)
“new” foodstuff categories (e.g. “fine cheeses”, imported liquor, beer) and (b) on the
bulk import of foodstuffs either not produced at all in Cyprus, or produced in quantities
not sufficient for the needs of the population. Some of these are sugar, flour, pasta,
rice et al. Quantitative data is processed to produce a per capita consumption in the
census years. The result will indicate the general trend in diet change, as “new” food
categories were made available and incorporated in the local diet. Information from
sources such as advertisements as well as information on new manufacturing plants
(e.g. pasta factories and breweries) will be used to complement and partially validate
the trends on diet change in the years of colonial rule in Cyprus.
Description
Keywords
Greek studies, Food and diet, Import and export, Cyprus
Citation
Kazamias, G. and Panayiotou, M., 2015. Foodstuffs imports and diet change in Cyprus, 1881–1946/7. In: M. Tsianikas, G. Couvalis and M. Palaktsoglou (eds.) "Reading, interpreting, experiencing: an inter-cultural journey into Greek letters". Modern Greek Studies Association of New Zealand, 239-250.