Wheat, Worldwide Shipping, and the First World War

For the past month the blue and yellow Ukrainian flag has dominated social media as people around the world show their concern for the besieged nation. The sky blue and ripe grain yellow reminds us that Ukraine is a major exporter of wheat. Whatever the future may hold for country and the upcoming harvest of 2022, whenever I think of wheat lately, it always comes back to the First World War and the massive wheat shortages of the First World War. It is the habit of historians to see echoes of the past in current events.

In 1918 the U.S. Food Administration published a college textbook, Food and the War that gives in-depth information on the issues. At the beginning of the 20th century wheat was one of the cornerstones of the diet of many nations in Europe. The chapter The Importance of Wheat provides data on the historical production and distribution of wheat. Before the war started Russia (including Ukraine), Romania, and Bulgaria where the only European countries that produced more wheat than they could use. Most  nations imported at part of their wheat supply, while the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, and some of Scandinavia depended almost wholly on imports. Outside of Europe the United States, Canada, Argentina, India, and Australia all provided 94% of the world export of wheat.

During the war Russia stopped exporting wheat and began to suffer shortages internally. Germany took control of some wheat-producing areas, cutting off supply to its enemies. Worldwide, shipping to Europe became more difficult, due both to a lack of ships and submarine warfare posing a threat to shipping. Three major exporting countries, Argentina, Canada, and the United States had poor crop yields in the 1916-1917 seasons. The result was a wide range of restrictions. While mandatory rationing took place in Europe, the United States adopted a variety of voluntary strategies that I’ll cover in next month’s blog.