The United States’ superpower status is often linked to its industrial and military strength. However, its post-World War II global power also stemmed from an unexpected source: agriculture. Unlike Britain, which relied on its colonies for food, the US generated massive agricultural surpluses. In the 1950s, during decolonization and the Cold War, the US became the leading food exporter to developing nations through its extensive food aid programs.

This book offers a fresh perspective on the post-war global order and the US’s role in it, examining it through the lens of food and agriculture. Samantha Iyer explores how India and Egypt, former British territories and agricultural rivals, became major importers of US food aid. She investigates the evolution of the US-centered postwar food regime by analyzing changes in agricultural surplus production, distribution, and consumption from the late 19th century to the early 1970s.

By connecting life in villages, towns, and cities with national and international affairs, Iyer reveals that food aid was the result of a shifting political, economic, and ecological landscape shaped by multiple actors, not solely the United States. Drawing on sources in Arabic, French, Urdu, and English, this book provides a groundbreaking comparative history of food, agriculture, and development.