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Mold in Human History
The Ergot Epidemic
In her book, Poisons of the Past: Molds, Epidemics, and History, Mary Kilbourne Matossian (a history professor) presents overwhelming evidence that the population of Europe was held down for 500 years by endemic Mold-induced food poisoning called ergot or ergotism. Although most sources attribute this long epidemic to fungi in the genus Claviceps, she also gives credit to the genus Fusarium. Both genera infected rye kernels before and after harvest, producing toxic, long-acting alkaloids (e.g., ergotamine).

In northern Europe the poor, who lived on rye bread and little else, were the most affected. Women miscarried and children died frequently. Those who survived childhood had chronic illnesses, gangrene, and mental disturbances. Their hallucinations and seizures were interpreted as witchcraft, possession, or divine inspiration. No one knew that their diet was responsible for their misfortune. Not until wheat and potatoes began to replace rye did the epidemic abate.

Wealthy households were never affected as much as poor households, because their servants prepared the grain as gruel, boiling it over a fire for about a half hour, which broke down the toxin. They also enjoyed a more diverse diet, including meat and white bread.

Ergot was responsible for the low birth rate and high death rate in Europe from perhaps as early as 1250 to 1750. It even provided occasion for the Salem witch trials, because the early settlers of Massachusetts planted rye, ate rye bread, and experienced hallucinations and seizures just as the Europeans did. Even as late as 1945, ergotism was still retarding the population growth of Russia.

As a strong influence on population and quality of life in Europe for half a millenium, Mold had a massive effect on the course of history. (Matossian's book is fascinating! You can buy it for .90 from Books Now by calling 1-800-266-5766, ext. 1494.)

The Irish Potato Famine
The potato was introduced to northern Europe in the 1700s, and is credited with the quadrupling of Ireland's population between 1740 and 1840, because it could support three or four more people per acre than wheat could. The potato blight came in 1845 and returned at intervals thereafter, causing widespread famine and the loss of half Ireland's population by emigration and starvation in a period of 47 years. This time the Mold did not sicken people, as the ergot had, but it killed the plants that provided them with food. The result was an Irish diaspora.

Public Health Measures in Biblical Times
The very first mention of Mold and Mold cleanup is in the Bible: Leviticus, Ch. 13, verses 1-46 (isolation or purification of people with skin diseases); verses 47-59 (mildewed clothing must be burned); and Ch. 14, verses 33-48 (mildew "with greenish or reddish depressions" on the inside wall of a house). The rabbi did inspections and acted as the public health officer.

The mildewed walls were to be remedied, according to Chapter 14, by tearing out the contaminated stones and throwing them into "an unclean place outside the town," then scraping the remaining inside walls and throwing the scrapings in an unclean place. The old stones are replaced with new, the house is replastered and then monitored to see whether the trouble recurs. (In previous translations, the rather vague word used for any skin disease was translated as "leprosy." This translation uses "mildew," but the word should not be taken too literally.)