Irish cuisine has evolved from centuries of social and political change and the mixing of the different cultures in Ireland, predominantly from nearby Britain and other European regions. The cuisine is founded upon the crops and animals farmed in its temperate climate and the abundance of fresh fish and seafood from the surrounding waters. Chowder, for example, is popular around the coasts. The rise of a commercial market in grain and meat altered the diet of the Irish populace by redirecting these products abroad as cash crops, which were used to feed soldiers and civilians alike throughout the British Empire. Consequently, potatoes were widely adopted in the 18th century and essentially became the main food people could afford. Other representative dishes include Irish stew, bacon and cabbage, boxty, soda bread, coddle, and colcannon.