Cooperation, Trust and Food: The Foundations of Economic Progress

Food has always been more than just sustenance—it has structured human interactions, built trust, and driven progress. But as globalization fragments these connections, how can we rebuild solidarity and ensure food remains a foundation of collective well-being and economic resilience?

Cooperation and Trust as the Drivers of Development

Unlike most of the other species, humans developed the ability to coordinate through language and shared narratives, allowing them to organize complex societies (Harari, 2015). Economic growth and social progress have always relied on humans’ ability to cooperate and build trust-based institutions. While technological innovations and market mechanisms have played significant roles, they are only possible within systems where individuals can collabourate effectively. Historically, this trust has been forged primarily around food—its production, storage, transformation, distribution, consumption, and elimination have necessitated large-scale cooperation.

Food has not only sustained life but also shaped economies, political structures, and social cohesion. Institutions that ensured equitable food distribution reinforced collective trust and laid the groundwork for organized societies. However, as food systems became increasingly industrialized and globalized, these bonds of trust began to erode, raising concerns about the future of collective action.

The Evolutionary Origins of Cooperation Around Food

Early human societies were built on the principle of food sharing. Unlike solitary predators, humans relied on group hunting and communal gathering to survive. Language played a decisive role in coordinating these efforts, allowing early hominids to develop hunting strategies, warn of dangers, and negotiate resource sharing. The necessity of collective hunting meant that individuals had to trust one another—those who participated in the hunt expected a fair share of the spoils. This reciprocity formed the foundation of early social contracts, reinforcing cooperation as a survival strategy.

Anthropologists like Margareth Conkey even suggest that prehistoric humans formed intertribal alliances through large-scale hunting expeditions, leading to grand communal feasts (Conkey, 1984). These gatherings were not just about sustenance; they helped forge bonds between groups, creating networks of mutual support and resource sharing beyond immediate survival needs.

The Role of Religion and Rituals in Strengthening Collective Food Systems

These intertribal interactions laid the groundwork for shared narratives, particularly religious beliefs, further strengthening group bonds. Archaeological discoveries at Göbekli Tepe in modern-day Turkey (12,000 BCE) suggest that large-scale collaboration among nomadic tribes, requiring the labor of hundreds of individuals, was driven by these collective narratives even before the emergence of agriculture and immediate survival needs (Wilson, 2021).

The ability to collaborate on grand projects like temple construction or large irrigation projects preceded the emergence of ancient cities. Over time, as agriculture developed and surpluses became more consistent, communities could specialize in production and trade. This economic specialization reinforced cooperation, allowing for the emergence of distinct professions such as artisans, merchants, administrators, religious elites, and military leaders.

Food Storage and the Birth of Political Institutions

As the population and complexity of ancient cities grew, the traditional direct ties between members of the same tribe were gradually replaced by institutions. Initially, food storage and redistribution were managed informally within small kinship groups, but as urban centers expanded, centralized structures became necessary to ensure equitable distribution and prevent resource conflicts. Temples, granaries, and marketplaces emerged as key institutions to regulate food supply, taxation, and trade, laying the foundation for organized governance. Scholars such as Scott (2017) argue that these institutions were not merely economic but also political tools used to solidify hierarchical power structures, shaping early state formations. Similarly, Morris (2015) highlights that access to food resources was a primary driver of social stratification, as elites controlled surplus distribution. These institutions maintained social order and facilitated economic specialization, allowing societies to sustain larger, more complex populations.

Agricultural production methods have played a decisive role in shaping social cooperation and interpersonal formal organizations. In modern China, studies show that rice-growing regions, which rely on extensive irrigation and cooperative farming, tend to foster stronger communal bonds and interdependence, while wheat-growing regions, which require less labor coordination, encourage more individualistic behaviors (Talhelm et al., 2014). This pattern extends beyond China: societies built on labor-intensive crops, such as rice cultivation in East Asia or coffee plantations in parts of Africa and Latin America, have historically developed more collectivist structures and values, such as prioritizing group harmony and consensus, reinforcing cooperation at multiple levels (Henrich, 2020).

The Rise of Individualism and The Erosion of Food-Based Trust

Throughout most of human history, food was a collective concern that bound societies together, ensuring survival and social cohesion. However, industrialization and globalization have reshaped this relationship, transforming food from a communal resource into an individualized commodity. Today, people exercise unprecedented autonomy in choosing their careers, partners, and, increasingly, their diets (Harari, 2015).

The expansion of multinational corporations, the rise of mass food marketing, and the commodification of dietary habits have shifted eating from a shared experience to an act of personal preference. Heavily influenced by advertising and social media, modern consumption patterns prioritize individual identity over collective well-being, reinforcing hyper-individualism and eroding the long-standing sense of responsibility around food.

This shift has broader social implications. As trust in collective food systems declines, so does trust in institutions more broadly. The fragmentation of food culture reflects and exacerbates political polarization as dietary choices become symbols of ideological revendications. Without mechanisms to rebuild food-based solidarity, this erosion of trust could undermine the very cooperation that has historically driven economic and social progress. The challenge ahead is to reconcile individual choice with collective well-being, ensuring that food remains a unifying force rather than a dividing one.

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References

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Harari, Y. N. (2015). Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind. Harper.
Henrich, J. (2020). The WEIRDest People in the World: How the West Became Psychologically Peculiar and Particularly Prosperous. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Morris, I. (2015). Foragers, Farmers, and Fossil Fuels: How Human Values Evolve. Princeton University Press.
Scott, J. C. (2017). Against the Grain: A Deep History of the Earliest States. Yale University Press.
Talhelm, T., Zhang, X., Oishi, S., Shimin, C., Duan, D., Lan, X., & Kitayama, S. (2014). Large-Scale Psychological Differences Within China Explained by Rice Versus Wheat Agriculture. Science, 344(6184), 603-608.
Wilson, B. (2021). Metropolis: A History of the City, Humankind’s Greatest Invention. Doubleday.