Smil, Vaclav: How Food Really Works

In this ambitious, myth-busting book, leading scientist and internationally bestselling author Vaclav Smil investigates many of the burning questions facing the world today: Why are some of the world‘s biggest food producers also the countries with the most undernourished populations? Why is food waste a colossal 1,000kcal per person daily, and how can we solve that? Could we all go vegan and be healthy? Should we? How will we feed the ballooning population without killing the planet? How Food Really Works shows how we misunderstand the essentials of where our food really comes from, how our dietary requirements shape us, and why this impacts our planet in drastic ways. For example, the food system uses 25 per cent of the world‘s energy supply, and yet, inexplicably, the smartphone market is considered more valuable. We are failing to prioritize the thing that makes all our lives possible: food. On a topic usually fuelled by opinions and feelings, How Food Really Works takes a refreshingly quantitative approach. It explores the global history of food production to help us understand why we farm some animals and not others, why most of the world‘s calories come from just a few foodstuffs, and how this might change in the future. This data-based, rigorously researched guide debunks wishful solutions and presents some uncomfortable realities. Ultimately, it explains how we will survive and thrive long into the future.