Art and Food Supply

Current conditions of the world’s food supply played a role in the depiction of several pieces of art, including Da Vinci’s masterpiece, The Last Supper.
During the Great Depression, any concern about food was that the amount was meager. Since then, humanity has evolved and established a vast supply of food. Some parts of the world, however, are not as lucky. Many developing countries have concerns of food, like those experienced in the Great Depression. In Developed Countries, the supply of food has drastically increased in the last 70 years.
The increase of food supplies is evident in the evolution of versions of The Last Supper. Just as the amount of food humans eat has increased over time, the amount of food displayed in newer versions of The Last Supper has done the same.
In the year 1500, the relative bread size displayed was equal to 0.5. The relative bread size was 1.6 in a 1900 version, over three times as large in a period of 400 years. Does this mean the amount of food eaten in 1900 is three times as much as what was eaten in the late 1400’s? Not necessarily, however it is a sign of increased food portions.
During the 1900’s, the world economy was strong. The United States was entering the Industrial Age. Food became easier to make and to purchase. In the mid 1900’s, the world saw the emerge of fast food. Foods were made in bulk, with chemicals and preservatives, which made foods much more affordable.
Americans moved away from rural areas to cities, and cars were becoming popular. More factories were built, and all of this made food easier to get. These changes in society have affected more than the health of human beings, but what we think is necessary for survival.
Animals, including humans, have evolved to store fat in the body in case of food deprivation. Unfortunately, this is still true today, even though most humans don’t even have to think of food deprivation.
The problem is more than this evolutionary trait. As previously described, animals store fat to prevent food deprivation, yet humans eat so much that their fat levels are higher than the need to be, even in the event of food deprivation.
Slowly, humans have gained easier access to food, and have begun eating too much of it. This is because humans still have a million year old trait that assumes humans live in the wilderness and scavenge for their own food.
If this trait were to disappear, humans would no longer find the desire to overeat. Unfortunately, humanity must wait for another genetic mutation to emerge. Until this happens, humans may benefit from self-control.