What, do capitalism and imperialism not exist? I think that the issue here is one of poor wording; spices weren't the first foods to be subjected to the processes of production and distribution, they were they first to be subjected to these processes in the context of capitalism and imperialism.

> they were they first to be subjected to these processes in the context of capitalism and imperialism

Garum was processed and distributed from Roman imperial colonies across the Roman Empire.

And there is no such thing as "capitalist and imperialist processing and distribution". That's just made-up bullshit.

I'm not convinced you actually understood my comment. I'm not saying that processing and distribution in the context of capitalism and imperialism are qualitatively different from processing and distribution in pre-capitalist society (although I'd say they are at least quantitatively different, and it would be an interesting discussion to have); I'm saying that it's possible the author intended to say that spices were the first to be subjected to these processes in the context of capitalism and imperialism, rather than the fairly ridiculous claim that spices were the first foods to be subject to the processes of production and distribution as implied by the original wording.

Garum is pretty much a spice though. As the father of a half-Cambodian child, i can assure you that fermented fish sauces are treated like a spice and not a side dish.