Event: Research Kolloquium | Food Chemistry and the Soviet Quest for Development after World War II

My presentation will examine the role of chemistry in addressing food shortages in the Soviet Union after WorldWar II. It will focus on the intersection of science, politics, and the environment by analyzing how food chemists justifi edand experimented with so-called synthetic food—edible substances produced in laboratories from non-edible materialssuch as oil. I will explore how scientifi c ideas and experiments circulated within both the scientifi c and political domains ofstate socialism, as well as how scientists and consumers perceived the taste and nutritional value of synthetic food.

The paper will highlight both the similarities and the diff erences between Soviet food science projects and comparableinitiatives elsewhere. It will argue that food chemistry off ered an alternative response to changing food systems amidresource scarcity. Although the synthetic food project largely remained confi ned to the laboratory, it neverthelesscontributed to the idea of modern, tasty food—one grounded in scientifi c experimentation rather than natural growth.