| Summary |
"It seems that practically every day there is news about some new super-nutrient, super diet, or super food that promises to help us to be healthier, smarter, happier, fight disease, lose weight, or live longer. Some of this information propels temporary food or diet fads, some of it is subsequently discredited, and some becomes staid wisdom of healthy eating. It structures the way we eat and consume, the research agendas of food scientists, and the ways in which food companies market their products -- and therefore the ways in which the global food system is built. It also affects the environment, food and animal ethics, political and social movements, public policy, and, of course, our health. This volume of the What Everyone Needs to Know series will look at food systems globally and also historically to explain how food production, diets, and nutrition science have changed across time and space. It will begin with a chapter on food revolutions (from hunter-gatherers, to the birth of agriculture, the industrial revolution, the green revolution, and genetic and food technologies); followed by chapters on basic concepts in nutrition science; food choices; the politics of food environments (farms, supermarkets, restaurants, farmers markets, community farms, and food trucks); modern food production and health (conventional v. sustainable agriculture, the meaning of 'organic' and 'whole' foods; food packaging); the environmental costs of food production; animal-based diets; beverages; plant-based diets; and nutrition guidelines and food labels. The book concludes with a chapter on food technology (personalised diets, 3D printing of food, the food supply, and the future of hunger)"-- |
