Editing Food distribution (section)

=== Rome ===
The traditional Roman diet consisted of grain, fruits, olive oil, meat and wine. Of all these, grain was extremely important to the [[Demography of the Roman Empire|Roman people]].<ref name=":1" /> During Rome's height, it is estimated that the city itself needed 150,000 tons of grain and millions of liters of water and wine every year to survive.<ref name=":2">{{Cite news|url=http://brlsi.org/events-proceedings/proceedings/25021|title=Feeding Ancient Rome|last=Morley|first=Neville|date=2005|publisher=Bath Royal Literacy and Scientific Institution|access-date=2016-10-20|archive-date=2016-11-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161118040810/http://brlsi.org/events-proceedings/proceedings/25021|url-status=dead}}</ref> It was traditionally the responsibility of the Roman government to guarantee that there was enough food for distribution among the people. In times of shortages, bad harvests, or interference by pirates, the government made sure to fulfill its obligation to food distribution. Officials would sometimes buy food themselves and then sell it back to the people at little to no cost.<ref name=":1" /> When Rome eventually established its Empire, foreign lands would send taxes in grain to Rome, which helped decrease the chance of a food distribution crisis.<ref name=":2" />

==== The ''Annona''====
The first indication of a collective, organized food distribution system within the [[Roman Republic]] comes from the ''annona''. Originally meaning "yearly return", the ''annona'' became the administrative term for governmental bread and grain distribution. Over time, ''annona'' came to represent the distribution of all pertinent foods in the [[Ancient Roman cuisine|Roman diet]]. The ''annona'' was originally organized between 500 and 50 BCE, and gained increasing influence in the centuries to come. The practice of specifically distributing grain to the [[Plebs|plebeian]] class, known as ''frumentationes'', gained prominence around 120 BCE and supplemented the efforts of the ''annona'' to feed the Roman people. [[Augustus|Emperor Augustus]] officially changed the ''annona'' system between 8 and 14 CE. He established the position of ''praefectus annonae'', Prefect of the Annona. Up to this point in time, the ''annona'' was handled by local government officials called [[aedile]]s. Augustus’ Prefect of the ''Annona'' oversaw all transportation, weighing, [[Inspection (medicine)|inspection]], and storing of state foods.<ref name=":1" />

The physical distribution of foods throughout the Roman Empire varied by location and type of food. Some foods were shipped by boat and then distributed once they reached port.  Others, specifically meat, were transported by land and brought into urban areas. Special regulations were put in place for the distribution of olive oil, as the Empire made contracts with olive oil producers all over the Mediterranean. Free daily distributions of olive oil were enacted by [[Severus Alexander|Emperor Severus]] during his reign from 192 to 211 CE. His distribution policy lasted for at least a few centuries, but scholars are unsure if the policy continued thereafter. Wine was not as freely distributed as olive oil, but was sold for a very low price starting around 300 CE.<ref name=":1" />