How Fred W Smith’s logistics revolution changed global food

The Third Punic War, in which Rome destroyed Carthage, was famously fuelled by the delivery of figs. The orator Cato, addressing the Senate, produced fresh figs from Carthage, which he claimed reached Rome in just three days. This convinced senators about the threat from their North African rivals.  Fred W Smith’s logistics revolution changed the global food game. In his essay ‘Cato’s African Figs’, F.J. Meijer analyses the logistics of Roman shipping and fig ripening to argue that the fruits could not have come from Carthage (now Tunisia) so soon. He suggests that it helps to improve the logistics and supply chain trends.  Meijer had data because Rome stood at the centre of an amazing system to transport perishable foods. Trade networks had transported long-lasting foods, like spices and dried fruits, to countries. Elites across the world were able to get special deliveries of perishable foods. In