oa Voorbij het succesverhaal

Beyond the success story. New questions and approaches in the historiography of Dutch agriculture

This article reviews developments in Dutch agricultural history from c.1900. It argues that, for example, contemporary environmental and social issues have encouraged renewed interest in this field. Other (historical) sub-disciplines have also become interested in agricultural history, resulting in new research themes and questions. Agricultural history is no longer studied as an isolated economic-industrial system but as an integral part of society and food systems. Questions concerning agricultural modernization have dominated the field. The authors argue that to understand the complexity of international food systems in modern times, future research must focus on food value chains. Food value chains encompass everywhere, everything, and everyone that adds value to foodstuff in the food chain. This article highlights two promising research domains that remain underdeveloped in Dutch agricultural history: international perspectives and (new) materialism.