From the bestselling author of How the World Thinks, an exploration of how we grow, make, buy and eat our food around the world—and a proposal for a global philosophy of food.
How we live is shaped by how we eat. You can see this in the vastly different approaches to growing, preparing and eating food around the world, such as the hunter-gatherer Hadza in Tanzania whose sustainable lifestyle is under threat in a crowded planet, or Western societies whose food is farmed or bred in vast intensive enterprises. And most of us now rely on a complex global food web of production, distribution, consumption and disposal, which is now contending with unprecedented challenges.
The need for a better understanding of how we feed ourselves has never been more urgent. In this wide-ranging and definitive book, philosopher Julian Baggini expertly delves into the best and worst food practises in a huge array of different societies, past and present. His exploration takes him from cutting-edge technologies, such as new farming methods, cultured meat, GM and astronaut food, to the ethics and health of ultra processed food and aquaculture, as he takes a forensic look at the effectiveness of our food governance, the difficulties of food wastage and the effects of commodification.
Extracting essential principles to guide how we eat in the future, How the World Eats is a thought-provoking and illuminating call for a pluralistic, humane, resourceful and equitable global food philosophy that will guide us towards a food system fit for the twenty-first century and beyond.
"In How the World Eats, Baggini grapples with 'everything that affects and is affected by' our comestibles. Baggini’s attraction to detail makes How the World Eats a vivid read. For all the clarity of his prose, he is not afraid of complication. At times, he revels in it. For eaters with an appetite for facts, there is much to enjoy. The abstract ideas are meant to be the point, but it’s the concrete details that make How the World Eats absorbing."
"Global food systems have grown unsustainable and must be reworked, according to this illuminating treatise. Baggini skillfully captures the intricacies of an enormously complex system and its tangled environmental, economic, and public health consequences. A worthwhile consideration of a pressing social issue.”
"Mr. Baggini’s book is valuable as a truly sweeping survey of the world’s food system. The author is a fair-minded judge of the vast research and complex science he has distilled, pointing to the many ethical and environmental challenges we face in feeding an increasingly affluent planet."
"Baggini—a philosopher and journalist—applies an interdisciplinary lens as he disentangles and describes the evolutionary complexities of our global food system. A philosopher’s eye brought a refreshing alternative and nuanced view to the relationships that connect us—not always favorably—to our foods. Baggini describes a growing disconnect between eating food and understanding the associated harms that may be caused along the way to your plate. The food world, he argues, must be considered as a whole system. This is a wonderful perspective to advocate for."
