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.
