How to Feed the World

by Jessica Eise (Editor), Ken Foster (Editor)

By 2050, we will have ten billion mouths to feed in a world profoundly altered by environmental change. How can we meet this challenge? In How to Feed the World , a diverse group of experts from Purdue University break down this crucial question by tackling big issues one-by-one. Covering population, water, land, climate change, technology, food systems, trade, food waste and loss, health, social buy-in, communication, and, lastly, the ultimate challenge of achieving equal access to food, the book reveals a complex web of factors that must be addressed in order to reach global food security.
 
How to Feed the World unites contributors from different perspectives and academic disciplines, ranging from agronomy and hydrology to agricultural economy and communication. Hailing from Germany, the Philippines, the U.S., Ecuador, and beyond, the contributors weave their own life experiences into their chapters, connecting global issues to our tangible, day-to-day existence. Across every chapter, a similar theme these are not simple problems, yet we can overcome them. Doing so will require cooperation between farmers, scientists, policy makers, consumers, and many others.
 
The resulting collection is an accessible but wide-ranging look at the modern food system. Readers will not only get a solid grounding in key issues, but be challenged to investigate further and contribute to the paramount effort to feed the world. 

Genres: Agriculture, Food, Social Issues, History, Health, Science

256 pages, Paperback

Published March 15, 2018

About the author

Jessica Eise, PhD, is a social scientist, writer and public speaker who specializes in strategic communication. Her primary areas of expertise include climate change, food security, agriculture and mitigation of global chronic stressors. Jessica’s work has appeared in scholarly articles as well as popular press publications, including CNBC, Salon, MarketWatch and Thomson Reuters Foundation News, amongst others. Her books include How to Feed the World (Island Press, 2018), The Communication Scarcity in Agriculture (Routledge, 2017) and other works. Jessica has a master’s in Journalism and International Relations from New York University and formerly worked in international media production, new media and strategic communication.

Reviews

[Alex]

Great read!

[Tomas Nilsson]

Will population on earth continue to grow forever? Are there limits to growth? Will there be enough food to feed everyone? What causes famine? Is there enough land and water available to produce all the food that we might need? What are the environmental consequences of our current form of agriculture? Why is organic food so expensive? Does eating organic food generate personal health benefits? Are we, who live in North America, eating too much bad food or too little good food? What type of food should we be eating? Are we following the right dietary guidelines? The book, “How to feed the world” discusses these and many other relevant issues that we are facing in today’s society. Each chapter is written by a different author or team of authors. The authors are all working at Purdue university as researchers, teachers and communicators. As a reader, the reading experience is very positive. With that I mean that the authors do not use technical terms that can only be understood by insiders (“academic jargon”). As an example, my 10-year-old read the chapter on food waste and proclaimed that we need to do our part and start composting. As a result we are going to start composting at home. The authors discuss how their personal experience have shaped their world views; the examples are hands on and shape their forecast on what the future may look like. Examples include Professor Shively’s collaboration with Nepal communities; Professor Wu’s personal weight and diet management experience. The book gives a first person account in solving real world problems across the globe: Indianapolis, New York, Kathmandu, and Copenhagen to name a few. I strongly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in food and agriculture, community and societal development in developed and developing countries, and food habits. I also strongly recommend this book to young professionals who are contemplating entering the world of academia. The professors at Purdue university show in this book how applied research can be used to influence and shape future growth. Disclosure: I am a Purdue University alumni.

[Alison]

Considering the topic, it wasn't dry or totally 'doomsday' either. I found it easy to read and understand, without a lot of technical jargon and scientific theory. Although for someone studying nutrition, most of the scenarios are not new, it was nice to get a global perspective (if a little overly American) and from different authors talking about their specialty subjects was interesting and intriguing. I liked this book far more than I though I would. Nice to know that in reality we really do have enough food to feed the world, and with some planning, be able to continue to do so. It is however, that although there is enough food to feed the world, it is getting that food that seems to be the issue, either because of disaster or war, but also just plain poverty stops people eating well and diversely. The food is there, but not the ability or wealth to obtain it. A reality that we must also combat poverty, even in the western world, as people in countries that are wealthy, still have people who live paycheque to paycheque and can barely pay for the food for their day, let alone 'treats' and adequate clothing and heating. One of the reasons why I give to my local foodbank. It's not much but I am happy to do it when I can, even when I am money stressed. I good book for everyone to read.

[Emilie Greenhalgh]

This book is on the right track towards what we need.. but I can’t tell who the audience is. The intro talks about wanting to convince a broader audience, but it had a bizarre juxtaposition between dumbing down concepts that anyone remotely involved in this field would be familiar with and then going off on jargony rants that could do with further explanation. I really enjoyed the last chapter and felt that it gave the most forward looking, big picture point of view. Many of the other chapters felt like they revealed deeply-entrenched conservative agricultural beliefs and were almost on the defensive toward conservationists or the organic, locavore movement.

Overall, the editors did a good job in tying the topics together, and the chapters were well-written enough to ALMOST not feel like university required reading.

[Eva]

I was disappointed in this book. Perhaps not radical enough to meet the urgency of the moment. I was hoping for new ideas.