At one point during The Little Ice Age, people were struggling so much that bread was no longer made out of wheat. In Flanders, Belgium, sixteen bakers were caught baking hog dung into their bread. One Russian family was so desperate for food that they reportedly killed thousands of people simply to obtain their rations. Piracy and theft became important parts of many people's lives. Stealing allowed them to acquire food and goods that could be traded for food. Grave robbing also increased in popularity. Fresh graves would be dug up and found the next morning with skeletons lacking valuables and flesh. Stories were told of similar instances where people ate their kin as well as fellow prisoners. The measures people took to stay alive are simply unimaginable.