Synopses & Reviews
This timely book provides a thorough introduction to the inter-relationship of food and the environment. Its primary purpose is to bring to our attention the multiplicity of linkages and interconnections between what we eat and how this impacts on the earth 's resources. Having a better idea of the consequences of our food choices might encourage us to develop more sustainable practices of production and consumption in the decades ahead.
Although human societies have, over time, brought under control a large proportion of the earth 's resources for the purpose of food production, we remain subject to the effective functioning of global ecosystem services. The author highlights the vital importance of these services and explains why we should be concerned about the depletion of freshwater resources, soil fertility decline and loss of biological diversity. The book also tackles some of the enormous challenges of our era: climate change, to which the agri-food system is both a major contributor and a vulnerable sector; and the prospect of significantly higher energy prices, arising from the peaking of oil and gas supplies, which will reveal how dependent the food system has become upon cheap fossil fuels. Such challenges are likely to have significant implications for the long-term functioning of global supply chains and raise profound questions regarding the nutritional security of the world 's population. Taken together the book argues that a re-examination of the assumptions and practices underpinning the contemporary food system is urgently required.
Environment and Food is a highly original, inter-disciplinary and accessible text that will be of interest to students and the wider public genuinely interested in and concerned by the state of the world 's food provisioning system. It is richly illustrated with figures and makes extensive use of boxes to highlight relevant examples.
Synopsis
During recent years we have seen growing concern about the origin, quality and safety of our food. This text provides an accessible yet comprehensive exploration of the ways in which the environment has shaped food production and consumption and is in turn impacted by these contemporary practices. Taking as its point of departure a concern for sustainability, this book first examines the ecological basis and evolution of agricultural production. It then goes on to describe the development of the modern food system and the powerful corporations that have come to dominate world trade and shape global consumption patterns. It then examines the regulatory environment that has grown in order to placate consumer anxieties in an age of 'mad cows' and GM food. Following a discussion of food governance, the final chapters of the book address the recovery of sustainability in the food system.
Grounded throughout with global case studies it will be relevant for all students with an interest in the interrelationships between food, agriculture and environment .