Food+Sales

=**Food Sales** =  What was the food sales during the French Revolution like?

 Rather than people’s basic conception about food as a role of an element of culture and maintaining life and growth, it’s role was even more meaningful to the world than people think. During the French Revolution, food changed history, when it fostered famine and economic crisis. In the 1770s, France was only second after Great Britain in trade, which they exported sugar, coffee, and indigo. However, France lacked links for transportation for trade while Britain had vast rivers that food was importable, so as a consequence France was without any resulting growth in food production. Adding up to this conflict, in the 1700s there was a 25% population increase while 80% of the agriculture was consumed by the farmers and so with a 10% decrease in harvest, people went hungry. Agriculture was an important factor that composed three-fourth of the GDP, but France was still behind Britain for their cheap textile industry.

Bread is an important component for the French cuisine, but the prices for it were so expensive, many people were in famine.

 Then, the harsh winters in 1788 to 1789 led to the failure of growing grain crops for two years in a row, skyrocketing the price of bread. Peasants were desperate and only to feed their household, because a bread cost 88% of their income. A normal worker would earn fifteen to thirty sous per day while skilled workers received thirty to forty. A household of four would need at least two loaves of bread to live, but since the price rose by 67% in 1789 alone, peasants relied on charities. Also, it was shown that there was a gap between the rich and poor. It wasn’t only bread, but salt too was part of the French cuisine that the tax made it difficult for the poor. The causes of the French Revolution are more complicated than just the soaring price of bread or brutal taxes on salt, but it is true how both stimulated the angers toward monarchy.



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