WHAT DO WE EAT?

A plea to address food anxieties by wasting less, being more efficient with current resources, and exploring alternative sources.

Best thought of as a discussion starter, Clendenan’s survey is light on fine details but spotlights a great array of food-related topics. The author makes quick nods toward both cautionary and inspiring incidents, from the ill-supplied Robert Scott Antarctic expedition to how a marooned group of Polynesian youths got by on a deserted island for 15 months in 1965. More recently, Clendenan describes the way the Russian invasion prompted Ukrainian restaurant owners to provide free meals to refugees. She also details creative ways in which people have met technical challenges, such as the invention of packaged salads for the military or growing food in outer space. In an overview of the history of farming, the author points to agroforestry (planting trees and shrubs alongside crops) as a potentially sustainable agricultural practice while warning of the problems posed by monoculture crops. She forthrightly suggests that, along with food that’s now being thrown away for cosmetic or other poor reasons (“landfill salad”), more seaweed, insects, lab-grown meat, and 3D-printed foods will soon be on the general menu. The visuals—a mix of color photos and Lim’s illustrations—underscore the worldwide diversity of different kinds of foodstuffs as well as the humans who consume them.

A wide-angled review, but useful for raising awareness of a topic of great and growing concern.