From crisis to abundance: Food security and agricultural modernization in the post-World War II Europe

Abstract

The aim of this article is to relate the post-World War II food and humanitarian crisis to the actions of European states to overcome it and to ensure their food security. The conflict was decisive for the decision of the European nations to protect and stimulate the modernization of the countryside through public policies. From the 1950s the processes of production and distribution of agricultural goods entered a new phase of structural changes in many European countries, as agricultural units became highly productive enterprises.