By eevenden
One of the biggest questions I had before coming to Iceland was “what is the food like?”
From books, the only native Icelandic fruits and vegetables I’d heard of were moss and “scurveywart” (a shrubby plant with lots of vitamin C). Otherwise, the Icelandic diet has revolved a lot around goats and sheep. As a vegetarian, this was not a very promising sign.
It may surprise many to learn that Icelandic life depended heavily on farming up until 100 years ago. Many Icelandic people I have met here still have roots to farms today - perhaps their grandparent still live on their family farm or now they use it as a summer house. Today, Iceland imports a lot of food - especially produce - from continental Europe and the South America, but not all of it. So, it still begs the questions how and what are farmers growing here?
When Norse settlers arrived in Iceland in the year 1000, they immediately set up a farming community. There were very few towns in Medieval Iceland, and much the societal structure was based around individual homesteads and the family and employees who worked there.
Norse farmers originally brought a lot of livestock to Iceland, including sheep, cattle, horses, and goats. Many of the livestock breeds which arrived with the settlers can still be found on Icelandic farms today. Back then, sheep were especially valued because they could graze outside during the winter and provide wool and sustenance. Farmers at this time also grew different grains, mostly as fodder for their animals. Since farming primarily took place during the summer months in Iceland, farmers had little to do during the winter except survive. Often during January and February, men would leave their families and farms for an annual “hunt” to catch fish. For centuries, this lifestyle of Icelanders remained unchanged.
...continue reading "Agriculture in Iceland – from Farms to Greenhouses"
