The way we eat now : how the food revolution has transformed our lives, our bodies, and our world

Summary: "In just two generations, the world has undergone a massive shift from traditional, limited diets to more globalized ways of eating-- from bubble tea to quinoa, Soylent to meal kits. Paradoxically, our diets are getting healthier and less healthy at the same time. For some, there has never been a happier food era than today: a time of unusual herbs, farmers' markets, and internet recipe swaps. Yet modern food also kills-- diabetes and heart disease are on the rise everywhere on earth. This is a book about the good, the terrible, and the avocado toast. A riveting exploration of the hidden forces behind what we eat, "The way we eat now" explains how this food revolution has transformed our bodies, our social lives, and the world we live in."--

Record details

ISBN: 9780465093977
ISBN: 0465093973
Physical Description: print
xxix, 356 pages : illustrations, charts ; 25 cm
Edition: First edition.
Publisher: New York : Basic Books, 2019.
Copyright: ©2019

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 311-326) and index.

Formatted Contents Note:

Introduction: The gatherers and the hunted -- 1. The food transition -- And they never went hungry again -- Where the balance falls -- Stage four -- The global standard diet -- The mythical banana kingdom of Iceland -- A short history of eating too much -- Bending the curve -- What we ate next -- 2. Mismatch -- The thin-fat baby -- The thirst conundrum -- The stigmatized majority -- 3. Edible economics -- A hidden sea of oil -- Never tasted before -- Price of bread -- Engel's law -- Give us this day our daily meat -- Value for money -- 4. Out of time -- The death of the lunch hour -- Like a rest in music -- Wasting time or wasting food -- The rhythm of modern life -- The woman who never snacks -- Snack foods for the world -- "He's not really big on food" -- The healthy snack -- Eating alone together -- 5. The changeable eater -- What's salsa? -- New but not really -- Now comes quinoa -- Fads and frauds -- 6. Dinner without duty -- The democratic restaurant -- Calories and convenience -- Dinner on a bike -- Self-service -- The inequalities of choice -- 7. Eating by the rules -- Bleeding beetroot -- The healthiest of all possible diets -- The enigma of the protein bar -- Beyond food -- The opposite of a cucumber -- 8. The return to cooking -- The dabbler cook -- Cooking by numbers -- The land of cooks -- New kitchen rules -- 9. Crossing the bridge -- The sweet green grass -- Killing the cartoon characters -- "If I had maths results like this I'd be out of a job" -- Celebrate with olives -- The joy of greens -- Recipe for a seed -- Epilogue: New food on old plates.