there are books that are fun. and then there are books that are important. ‘animal, vegetable, junk’ is most definitely part of the latter category.
most humans eat multiple times a day. it’s one of the very few common denominators in a world that gets more divided by the day. and yet, how much do we know about our food?
about how it’s connected to our health and well-being, our communities and the nature that surrounds us?
the history of food
to explain, bittman goes back. far, far back. harari’s ‘sapiens’ style back and he retraces humankind’s steps in all things food since before the agricultural revolution.
he doesn’t mince his words while doing so. the picture he paints is very unlike the one i remember from history lessons back in school. colonisation, exploitation and slavery lead to monoculture, disease and a ‘more, more, more’ mindset in an almost straight line.
soil and grains and understanding
bittman is a skilled writer and yet, i must admit, getting through the first chapters was a challenge. i never thought i’d ever know this much about soil or grains. or care about soil or grains for that matter.
but before anyone can change things, we have to understand them and to understand the disaster that is our current food system involves getting through these first chapters.
the reward is insight. it is understanding into why things are the way they are and a glimpse of what they could be.
this is indeed a very important book. i’d recommend it to everyone who eats.