The emergence of large-scale food production gave us unprecedented abundance - but at a steep and ultimately unsustainable price. Relentless cost-cutting has made our food systems vulnerable to contamination and disease. More than a billion people are overweight or obese, yet roughly the same number are still malnourished. Over-crowded countries like China are already planning for tightened global food supplies. As the world veers back to a time of hunger and uncertainty, Paul Roberts explores the vulnerable miracle of our modern food economy and pinpoints the decisions we must make to avoid the coming meltdown.
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'Indispensable ... the best analysis of the global food economy you are likely to find' Michael Pollan, author of In Defence of Food 'The coming food crisis ... is as intractable as global warming, and no less urgent' Economist 'What Roberts is telling us, essentially, is that our food is not cheap; it just seems to be cheap. One day we'll find out how expensive it really is. Or rather, was' William Leith, Evening Standard 'Other books have documented the growing food demands of the developing world ... What sets Roberts apart is how he pulls these topics together into a panorama of the food economy as a whole' Bloomberg.com
About the Author
Paul Roberts is the author of the acclaimed bestseller, The End of Oil and a regular contributor to Harper's Magazine. He lives in Washington State, US.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By Happy Buyer
Format:Paperback
This is a very readable book. The pace and tone flows well and is rather like that of a TV documentary. This may not be everyone's cup of tea but appealing to those of us who enjoy that format. I'm not too far into the book but everything that Paul Roberts has stated is plain, simple and obvious. By that I mean that he has gathered facts together and predicted the future. I didn't know many of these facts, now I do, the possibilities for the future are obvious. This is a scary book.
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
By Rolf Dobelli
TOP 500 REVIEWER
Format:Paperback
Journalist Paul Roberts investigated the global food-delivery system and he reports that food product production and prices have advanced like the production and prices of other contemporary consumer goods. The economics of the food system push an ever-faster product cycle driven by supply-and-demand pressures. The infrastructure that delivers food to consumers uses ever-advancing technology. However, food itself is not an ordinary consumer "product." Inexpensive food is an illusion, because the process externalizes many food production costs as cheap labor or cheap oil. Roberts explains why the food-delivery system is mired in economic, political and cultural problems, and examines the crisis that looms if it runs out of fuel or water, or both. getAbstract recommends this investigation to readers who want to understand the production, market and consumer implications involved in feeding the people on our planet.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
By vikingraider
Format:Paperback
I love these books that look at the truth behind the apparent bountiful food harvest we enjoy right now and look at the harsh realities of it all. This is one of the best books I ever read on the subject, as Paul Roberts unveils a theory I agree with of a coming catastrophe in global food supply.
Only downside, and hence the 4 stars, is that the author lets his personal views on the topic pervade some of the examples of food and agricultural processes and seems to think governments should do more to help fix the problem, whereas while I read the book, it became pretty obvious government intervention is the major cause of the problem (price supports, etc. to win votes).
Sadly, I think we have to accept the crisis will occur, and from an investing point of view, I never saw clearer evidence that I should be socking a load cash into places like Brazil and Argentina who will become the agricultural powerhouses of the 21st century, usurping the USA.
Only downside, and hence the 4 stars, is that the author lets his personal views on the topic pervade some of the examples of food and agricultural processes and seems to think governments should do more to help fix the problem, whereas while I read the book, it became pretty obvious government intervention is the major cause of the problem (price supports, etc. to win votes).
Sadly, I think we have to accept the crisis will occur, and from an investing point of view, I never saw clearer evidence that I should be socking a load cash into places like Brazil and Argentina who will become the agricultural powerhouses of the 21st century, usurping the USA.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
the end of food
I bought this boook having an interest in where our food comes from how its produced, and the logistics involved in getting it to the supermarket and onto our plates. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Gemma pc
3.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting book
There was a lot of interesting information in this book and it was exciting at the beginning but as I got further through it there was little that kept me interested (apart from... Read more
Published 22 months ago by A. Parsons
2.0 out of 5 stars
Dull.
I've read a lot of books on the subject of food production, and this one didn't add much that I didn't already know. Read more
Published on 16 Jan 2009 by Piers Finlayson
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