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    The End of Food
    The End of Food
    The End of Food
    Audiobook15 hours

    The End of Food

    Written by Paul Roberts

    Narrated by William Dufris

    4.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    The frightening truth about the modern food system.

    The bestselling author of The End of Oil turns his attention to food and finds that the system we've entrusted with meeting one of our most basic needs is dramatically failing us. With his trademark comprehensive global approach, Paul Roberts investigates the startling truth about the modern food system: the way we make food, market and consume it, and even think about it is no longer compatible or safe for the billions of consumers the system was built to serve. The emergence of large-scale and efficient food production changed forever our relationship with food and ultimately left a vulnerable and paradoxical system in place. Over 1.1 billion people worldwide are "over-nourished," according to the World Health Organization, and are at risk of obesity-related illness, while roughly as many people are starving. Meanwhile the natural systems all food is dependent upon have been irreparably damaged by chemicals and destructive farming techniques; the pressures of low-cost food production court contamination and disease; and big food consumers, such as China and India, are already planning for tightened global food supplies, making it clear that the era of superabundance is behind us.

    Vivid descriptions, lucid explanations, and fresh thinking make The End of Food uniquely able to offer a new, accessible way to understand the vulnerable miracle of the modern food economy. Roberts presents clear, stark visions of the future and helps us prepare to make the decisions-personal and global-we must make to survive the demise of food production as we know it.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTantor Media, Inc
    Release dateMar 21, 2008
    ISBN9781400175994
    Author

    Paul Roberts

    Paul Roberts specialises and has worked extensively in the field of project, programme and change management with organisations such as British Airways, ComputaCenter, The Economist, HBOS, Ministry of Defence, Pfizer, Inland Revenue, Royal Mail, Somerfield and Wilco.

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    Reviews for The End of Food

    4.5/5

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    • 3/5
      Not as entertaining or as engaging as Michael Pollan or Joanna Blythman this is an interesting, if Amero-centric, look at food and the food industry as it stands and it's race to the bottom. This was an interesting book to read while Ireland had another food crisis, where industrial grade (read cheap) oil was added to pig feed (loaded with dioxins), potentially causing a lot of problems for purchasers, producers and farmers. Much of this type of thing was discussed in this book and some of the issues that caused it were raised.It's a book many people need to read and ask themselves about their relationship with their food, unlike some other it doesn't offer any solutions, just questions and there were places where it just lost me in a sea of data. If I was asked to recommend a book on this topic I'd be less likely to recommend this and more likely to recommend Pollan or Blythman.
    • 5/5
      This is one of the best food-related books I've read in a while. Packed with tons of facts about a huge range of food-related topics, this book somehow still managed to be an easy-reading page-turner.

      It looks at the current food system - how produce and animals are treated as a commodity with the highest concern being expense, not nutrition or safety - and delves into how that affects the world. Everything from grain prices, international trade, world hunger, pandemics and consumer health are discussed. It's fantastic and my copy is so flagged with Post-It notes that it looks like I've tried to give it ruffles.
    • 4/5
      This book covers a whole spectrum of topics from pathogens to transgenic technology (all food is genetically modified). Makes a compelling argument for vegetarianism or at least reducing our 200 pound per person per year consumption of meat. India averages around 12 pounds. How many of us are aware that it takes about twenty pounds of grain to produce a single pound of beef? Or that livestock is responsible for one-fifth of all greenhouse gases? Or the thousand or so gallons of water it takes to raise this pound of beef? We have become so far removed from the source of food that we take it for granted. That our food supply is no more secure than it ever was. Climate change (disruption by human activity), overpopulation and environmental destruction are all adding to our food insecurity. The End of Food is a book that has changed the way I think about food. One of the best books on a topic that is vital to all of us. Highly recommended.
    • 4/5
      Do you currently, or have you ever eaten food? If your answer is yes, then this book is for you!Paul Roberts takes the reader on a data-rich journey towards understanding the food that sits in front of them. If you've never taken the opportunity to think about the origin of your food, the journey in The End of Food will be enlightening and apocryphal at the same time. From the origin of seeds to the politics of import/export, the complexity of the food system is bluntly detailed in this book. It is more common than not in this date and age (especially in America) to look for the "right" quick fix. Roberts doesn't offer a single, correct solution for problems evident within in the food system. Instead, the wisdom put forth is that sustainability must be achieved in order to gain the time to address the complex problems with complex solutions. This book is the perfect reference tool to help the eater make more well-informed, sustainable, and healthy (for person and environment) decisions.