How the World Eats
Where Our Food Comes From and Why It Matters
Published on 9. October 2025
Book
Paperback/Softback
464 pages
978-1-78378-858-3 (ISBN)
Description
How we live is shaped by how we eat. You can see this in the vastly different approaches to growing, preparing and eating food around the world, such as the hunter-gatherer Hadza in Tanzania whose sustainable lifestyle is under threat in a crowded planet, or Western societies whose food is farmed or bred in vast intensive enterprises. And most of us now rely on a complex global food web of production, distribution, consumption and disposal, which is now contending with unprecedented challenges.
The need for a better understanding of how we feed ourselves has never been more urgent. In this wide-ranging and definitive book, philosopher Julian Baggini expertly delves into the best and worst food practises in a huge array of different societies, past and present. His exploration takes him from cutting-edge technologies, such as new farming methods, cultured meat, GM and astronaut food, to the ethics and health of ultra processed food and aquaculture, as he takes a forensic look at the effectiveness of our food governance, the difficulties of food wastage and the effects of commodification.
Extracting essential principles to guide how we eat in the future, How the World Eats advocates for a pluralistic, humane, resourceful and equitable global food philosophy, so we can build a food system fit for the twenty-first century and beyond.
The need for a better understanding of how we feed ourselves has never been more urgent. In this wide-ranging and definitive book, philosopher Julian Baggini expertly delves into the best and worst food practises in a huge array of different societies, past and present. His exploration takes him from cutting-edge technologies, such as new farming methods, cultured meat, GM and astronaut food, to the ethics and health of ultra processed food and aquaculture, as he takes a forensic look at the effectiveness of our food governance, the difficulties of food wastage and the effects of commodification.
Extracting essential principles to guide how we eat in the future, How the World Eats advocates for a pluralistic, humane, resourceful and equitable global food philosophy, so we can build a food system fit for the twenty-first century and beyond.
Reviews / Votes
Julian Baggini engages with food in a way that nobody else does. He's the most important thinker we've got on food in the UK -- Tim Hayward, author of STEAK [An] overview of how people throughout the entire world - from hunter-gatherers to NASA astronauts - view, exist within, manage, and try to improve their food systems. Baggini's philosophy makes sense. We need sustainable food systems to feed the world -- Marion Nestle, Professor of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health, Emerita, New York University, and author, most recently, of Slow Cooked A profound and important book about our broken food system and how we might fix it. Baggini treats a thorny and complex issue with balance, clarity and a leavening of wit -- Ned Palmer, author of A Cheesemonger's History of the British Isles Julian expertly takes the reader on a wonderful journey and exploration through philosophy, culture, and gastronomy across the globe. A must-read for anyone passionate about food, culture and connections -- Dr Rupy Aujla, author of The Doctor's Kitchen A refreshingly balanced and nuanced survey of the complexities and realities of food today. Baggini explores the global reach of what we eat and weighs up competing voices to give some clarity of thinking amongst the clamour and crises -- Hattie Ellis, author of What to Eat: 10 Chewy Questions About Food Very informative and highly enjoyable -- Ha-Joon Chang, SOAS University of London, author of Edible Economics Debunks myths aplenty... Baggini's arguments are both readable and reasonable, which should find common ground across the food industry, whether you are a committed vegan or part-owner of a meat processing plant * Irish Times * With insights gained during interviews with food producers, activists, and academics, Baggini develops a food philosophy that seeks to understand how we feed ourselves and identify principles to help us repair our broken food world * Arts Quarterly * Profoundly important, informative and rigorously analytical... Baggini's canvas is worldwide, his approach forensic... balanced and meticulous... Jaw-dropping... It's an exciting display of joined-up thinking * TLS *More details
Edition
Main
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Dimensions
Height: 201 mm
Width: 129 mm
Thickness: 35 mm
Weight
317 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-78378-858-3 (9781783788583)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Previous edition
Book
10/2024
Granta Publications
€19.50
Available immediately
Person
JULIAN BAGGINI's books include the Sunday Times-bestselling How the World Thinks; How to Think Like a Philosopher; The Virtues of the Table; and the bestseller The Pig That Wants to be Eaten, all published by Granta Books. He has served as the Academic Director of the Royal Institute of Philosophy and is a member of the Food Ethics Council. He has written for the Guardian, the TLS, the Financial Times and Prospect, among other publications, and for academic journals and think tanks. His website is julianbaggini.com.