Volume editorial board: Leen Van Molle (University of Leuven, Belgium), Yves Segers (University of Leuven, Belgium) (directors) John Chartres (University of Leeds,UK) , Marc de Ferriere le Vayer (University of Tours, France), Pim Kooij (Wageningen University, Netherlands), Michael Kopsidis(IAMO, Halle (Saale), Bjorn Poulsen (Aarhus University, Denmark), Jean-Pierre Williot (University of Tours, France) Agriculture and nourishment are, from early times and up to now, crucial elements in the development of market systems. Shortage and surplus gave shape to different forms of exchange and sale, to the dynamics of supply and demand, and to expanding interconnections between regions and social groups. Farmers learned to adapt their production to market conditions and to the shifting needs and tastes of a growing and demanding public. But the path from a self-supporting way of life to the present forms of market integration in the complex, global world was far from uniform and linear. Food production, market structures and market mechanisms changed over time and differed between regions and countries of the North Sea area. This volume aims at exploring and unravelling the complexity of the agro-food market, from the field to the table.