Countdown to Christmas

5 - Canned Food

• Fueling Globalization & Trade: Liberals might not like to admit it, but preservation has had a greater impact on global trade than Adam Smith. Canned food revolutionized logistics, enabling ships to travel longer distances, expand global trade routes, and go on crazy expeditions—laying the foundation for modern globalization.
   
• Combating Scurvy and Malnutrition: By preserving fruits, vegetables, and meats, canned food played a key role in preventing scurvy—a vitamin C deficiency that plagued sailors on long journeys. Beyond that, it helped humanity to overcome food shortages, harsh winters, and times of war. Cans are truly a public health blessing!
   
• Expanding Access to Food: Canned food democratized nutrition, making fresh and preserved food available to people regardless of geography or season. Even if you’ve never seen an orange tree, you can still enjoy those juicy, yummy canned mandarin oranges.

Christmas Miracle

At a time when something as seemingly trivial as food spoilage put limits on human curiosity, exploration, trade, and progress, Frenchman Nicolas Appert (1749–1841) reshaped the history of civilization by inventing a method to preserve food: sealing it in airtight containers and heating them.

Among many things, this invention shows once more the everyday nature of innovation. Appert wasn’t a scientist or an entrepreneur—just an ordinary chef. Yet his breakthrough freed humanity from the constraints of time and geography and laid the foundation for our modern, globalized world like few others have.