Animal, Vegetable, Junk: A History of Food, from Sustainable to Suicidal: A Food Science Nutrition History Book - Paperback

by Mark Bittman (Author)

From hunting and gathering to GMOs and ultra-processed foods, this expansive tour of human history rewrites the story of our species and points the way to a better future.

The history of Homo sapiens is usually told as a story of technology or economics. But there is a more fundamental driver: food. How we hunted and gathered explains our emergence as a new species and our earliest technology; our first food systems, from fire to agriculture, tell where we settled and how civilizations expanded. The quest for food for growing populations drove exploration, colonialism, slavery, even capitalism.

A century ago, food was industrialized. Since then, advancing styles of agriculture and food production have written a new chapter of human history, one that's driving both climate change and global health crises. Best-selling food authority Mark Bittman offers a panoramic view of the story and explains how we can rescue ourselves from the modern wrong turn.

Author Biography

MARK BITTMAN is the author of thirty acclaimed books, including How to Cook Everything. He was a New York Times columnist for more than two decades and has hosted four TV series, including the Emmy-winning Years of Living Dangerously. He is currently on the faculty at Columbia University and is the editor in chief of Heated. He lives in New York City.