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

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: Mark Bittman
Publisher: Harvest Publications
Published: 04/26/2022
Pages: 384
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.6lbs
Size: 8.00h x 5.20w x 1.00d
ISBN: 9780358645528

About the Author
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.