Even though neo-Darwinist adherents have been reluctant to consider the possibility that organisms can undergo rapid evolutionary change in response to a changing environment, researchers brave enough to look have discovered some very interesting results. The Dutch Hunger Winter of November 1944 is one example of a short but significant environmental event that altered the regular developmental process and led to rapid developmental changes that could potentially have direct evolutionary consequences.

In the last months of 1944, as Allied forces fought to liberate the German-occupied Netherlands, the Nazis imposed a blockade that prevented the transportation of food over inland waterways to the western part of the country, including the cities of Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and The Hague. By early November 1944, an exceptionally harsh winter had set in, freezing the canals and making them impassable for barges. Although the embargo had been partially lifted, food stocks in western Netherlands were quickly depleted. Official food rations fell to below 1,000 calories (4,200 joules) per person per day by the end of November (note that the recommended daily amount for adults is around 2,000 calories or 8,400 joules) and remained so until the end of April 1945. The situation was so grave that the population is said to have eaten tulip bulbs provided by the government. The famine ended in May 1945 when, with liberation, Allied food supplies arrived in the region.