Next time someone tells you, "Well even the poorest of us today eats better than a king in the middle ages" think about this quality "inflation". What is the current cost today of putting high quality, wild meat on the table along with seasonally ripe and fresh fruit? What about high quality beer with no use of malt substitutes?

There are a number of measures, availability being one, where our modern food production system shines but on a quality measure it really falls flat against many times throughout history. The caveat there is obviously "history" is gigantic and runs the gamut from poor slaves eating gruel and starving to a patrician in Rome during its height or to a hunter gatherer in a food rich environment.

All that to say, I don't think this comparison is so simple, it is incredibly nuanced.