"Spices were the first foods to be subjected to capitalist and imperialist processes of production and distribution." Wheat and other staples have been used fo

"Spices were the first foods to be subjected to capitalist and imperialist processes of production and distribution." Wheat and other staples have been used for such purposes for thousands of years. Some researchers think that the power of staples to act as currency for large scale civilizations is what led to their dominance - since nutritionally they aren't compelling.