Whilst the greatest effort has been made to ensure the quality of this text, due to the historical nature of this content, in some rare cases there may be minor issues with legibility. The fate of nations depends upon how they are fed. This historic remark was made a century ago - shortly after the battle of Waterloo - by that meditative Frenchman, Brillat-Savarin. He had seen the mighty French empire fall to pieces in the hands of a fat Napoleon. He had foretold the sad event as he watched the young hero take on paunch and jowls - and join the grotesque band of the gastrophori. No one heeded him.