Food, Inc. 2: Inside the Quest for a Better Future for Food

by Participant (Editor), Karl Weber (Editor)

Overview

An eye-opening guide to how America feeds itself and an essential companion book to the new documentary
 
America’s food system is broken, harming family farmers, workers, the environment, and our health. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Here, brilliant innovators, scientists, journalists and activists explain how we can create a hopeful new future for food, if we have the courage to seize the moment.
 
In 2008, the award-winning documentary Food, Inc. shook up our perceptions of what we ate. Now, the movie’s timely sequel and this new companion book will address the remarkable developments in the world of food—from lab-grown meat to the burgeoning food sovereignty movement—that have unfolded since then.
 
Featuring thought-provoking original essays from:
 
Michael Pollan• Eric Schlosser• David E. Kelley and Andrew Zimmern• Senator Cory Booker• Sarah E. Lloyd• Carlos A. Monteiro and Geoffrey Cannon• Lisa Elaine Held• Larissa Zimberoff• Saru Jayaraman• Christiana Musk• Nancy Easton• Leah Penniman• David LeZaks and Lauren Manning• The Coalition of Immokalee Workers• Michiel Bakker• Danielle Nierenberg
 
This book is the perfect roadmap to understanding not only our current dysfunctional food system, but also what each of us can do to help reform it.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781541703575
Publisher:	PublicAffairs
Publication date:	12/05/2023
Pages:	336
Sales rank:	364,694
Product dimensions:	5.80(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Karl Weber is a writer and editor whose work focuses on social, political, and business topics. He has worked with Nobel Peace laureate Muhammad Yunus, former president Jimmy Carter, and secretary of defense Ash Carter. Weber is also the proprietor of Rivertowns Books, an independent publishing imprint.

Editorial Reviews

"Readers interested in environmental and food studies and public health will be thoughtfully engaged by this collection, poised to help us all understand the deep implications of the crisis in our food system and what to do about it now."—Booklist

From the Publisher

2023-09-07
A collection of essays on the problems that plague America’s food supply chain at every level.

This collection accompanies the documentary series Food, Inc. 2, sequel to Food, Inc., and several pieces cover the same ground as the previous book. The contributors focus on the corporatization of agriculture and the ruthlessness of the massive companies involved. Many small farmers find it difficult to earn a living, and exploitation is common across the entire supply chain, from the people who pick the vegetables to cooks, servers, and other restaurant staff. Several articles look at the unhealthiness of much of the food that is currently produced, and food journalist Larissa Zimberoff, author of Technically Food: Inside Silicon Valley’s Mission To Change What We Eat, has worrying things to say about lab-produced food. The problem with this book is that much of the information has been examined before, sometimes decades ago. Does anyone still think that highly processed foods are good for you? A number of writers cannot resist the temptation to take a swipe at Donald Trump, and Cory Booker’s article, “Politics on Your Plate,” reads like an advertisement for the Democratic Party. Similarly, the essay by Michiel Bakker, “From Food Services to Foodshots,” feels like a promotion for his employer, Google. In their analysis of agribusiness, some articles drift close to conspiracy-theory territory, and in some places there is a self-righteous, preachy tone. More interesting material includes an article on expanding the aquaculture sector and an essay that calls for improving financing options and access for sustainable farms. “The Four Bites,” social entrepreneur Christiana Musk’s exploration of plant-based quasi-meat, also raises intriguing possibilities. Readers who buy everything from Whole Foods will like this book; others may pass. Other contributors include Michael Pollan, Eric Schlosser, and Leah Penniman.

A mixed bag covering a great deal of territory.

Kirkus Reviews