Lard, Lice, and Longevity

This research project, which earned me a PhD in history from the University of Amsterdam in 2006, investigates the biological standard of living in Denmark and the Netherlands during the German occupation (1940-'45). Although the standard of living in these two countries was broadly similar, a remarkable difference stands out. In Denmark, public health improved during the occupation years, wheres in the Netherlands infectious diseases surged killing thousands of, especially, children and adolescents.

Through a comparative analysis, I was able to show that the cause of this difference lay in the different diets in the two countries. In Denmark, the pigsty of Europe at the time, the diet was remained high in animal source content. In the Netherlands, by contrast, animal fats, meat and dairy almost disappeared. This led to a sharp decline in the intake of fat-soluble micronutrients such as vitamin A in the Netherlands, a phenomenon known today as the 'hidden hunger'. Deficiencies left Dutch youths particularly vulnerable to a range of infectious diseases.

Publications:

- “The Mystery of the Dying Dutch: Can micronutrient deficiencies explain Dutch wartime mortality?” in: Frank Trentmann and Flemming Just (eds.) Food and War (London, Palgrave Macmillan, 2006).

- Lard Lice and Longevity: The standard of living in occupied Denmark and the Netherlands, 1940-1945 (Amsterdam, Aksant, 2008).

- “Mysteriet af de døende hollændere” in: Landbohistorisk Tidsskrift (2005) 1, pp108-135.

Reviews:

- Cormac O'Grada 'Lard, lice and longevity: the standard of living in occupied Denmark and the Netherlands, 1940-1945 - By Ralf Futselaar' in: Economic History Review 62 (2009) 4, pp 1032-1033.