When Wheat Was King

This book traces the rise and fall of the Canadian Wheat Board, revealing how trade, international relations, and food politics have influenced the grain industry in prairie Canada, the UK, and around the world.

By tracing the rise and controversial fall of the Canadian Wheat Board, Magnan reveals how trade, international relations, and food politics have influenced the grain industry in prairie Canada, the UK, and around the world.

Over the course of a century, the Canadian Prairies went from being the breadbasket of the world to but one of many grain-growing regions in a vast global agri-food system. When Wheat Was King traces the causes and consequences of this evolution, from the first transatlantic shipments to the controversial dismantling of the Canadian Wheat Board.

The story begins in the settlement period, when farmers came up against forces outside their control – world prices, unpredictable weather, powerful banks, and the emergence of a global grain trade. In response, Canadian governments created a central system for grain pooling, quality control, and collective marketing. In the postwar period, however, US priorities shaped a new food regime, and in the years that followed, the wheat trade faced the liberalization of global markets and the consolidation of corporate power.

This ambitious look at how farmers, consumers, the state, and markets coalesced in the production, distribution, and consumption of food in the Canadian-UK grain trade offers keen insights into how regional and international politics influence agriculture and food industries in Canada, the UK, and around the world.