Agricultural History Review, Volume 70 Part 1 (2022), p. 165

Alana Mann’s well-timed, compact book provides a persuasive critique of the complex interrelationship between ecologies, cultures and political economies in respect of the globalized food supply industry. The central thesis is that the commodification of food has accentuated climate change and, in turn, made consumers more vulnerable to the impact of extreme weather events and even pandemics. Mann explores the origins of this fossil fuel-based system of food production and how international trade in food has become increasingly dominated by a declining number of mega-companies which have focused on producing crops for the industrialized, developed global north. This, according to the author, is the prime reason for the emergence of the exploitation of the environment and, the poverty and hunger which is evident in the global south. This has led to widespread monoculture and in its wake environmental harm and misery for local communities, with the marginalization of farmers and food workers and a corporatized, globalized system of food production and supply. For the industrialized nations in the north, this has in turn contributed to unhealthy diets, surplus production and hyper-consumerism. Throughout, Mann cites, but does not always necessarily fully endorse, the findings of an extensive raft of sources which often castigate the prevailing food industry in a multiplicity of forms.

The unsustainability of this industrial food system is perceptively argued and the solutions, according to the author, are self-evident. These include the application of new technologies, the revival of traditional knowledges and the promotion of diversity among food producers to protect their livelihoods. Mann provides a critical assessment of, for example, engineering nutrition, where the damaging effects of food production might be mitigated by the application of genetically modified organisms which enables the production of cultivated meat replacements in laboratories. Cultivated meat can produce significantly lower emissions than the meat produced from methane-burping cattle or grain-eating pigs and poultry. Such a solution would have dire implications for the dominant industrial livestock industry which, some sources claim, is one of the most important causes of global warming. Mann explores the causes and consequences of what is identified as the industrial grain-oilseed-livestock complex with its focus on meat production for the wealthier nations of the world. Cutting the overconsumption of conventional meat in rich countries will not only reduce obesity, but is also seen as vital in helping to alleviate the climate crisis. This would also have implications for many developing countries whose populations aspire to consume more meat. However, how such a change could be implemented in practice receives scant attention.

The author’s unashamedly politically-inspired critique advocates for the pressing need for a rejuvenation of local and regional food systems which have been eroded by the overwhelming quest for global economic efficiency. Mann recognizes that agricultural practices which include indigenous and local knowledge can contribute, to a greater or lesser extent to overcoming the combined challenges of climate change as well as ensuring a more robust system of food security. The ways in which this revival can be achieved in practice are covered in a rather general sense and focus mainly on Australian examples.

Food in a changing climate is primarily concerned with providing a critique of what is portrayed as the present malaise rather than exploring the historical long-term causes of international specialization, which was facilitated by the development of free trade and colonialism. It deals with colonialism in a rather general way without specifically identifying and evaluating the crucially important role Western Europe played in this process. The neglect of Britain is particularly noticeable. It was in effect Britain’s dietary transformation, with the outsourcing of the country’s nutritional needs that was responsible for transforming international trade and establishing the global food system.

Overall, this account based on a critical appraisal of the causes for the existing precarious system of globalized food supply significantly enhances our understanding of the complexity of these issues. This book will appeal to the tastes of those interested in the history of food, environment, industrial consumption and global capitalism, particularly those committed to changing it. For those living in the industrialized north who are the main beneficiaries of the present system, the stark and uncompromising message it conveys may prove rather unpalatable, particularly to those who have the power to create a more sustainable global food system.

Complementing the critical analysis of the existing global food system is Chris Otter’s Diet for a large planet, which explores the historic shift to a diet rich in animal proteins and refined carbohydrates, particularly white bread and sugar. As Otter notes, these developments cannot be categorized as being exclusively confined to modernity, the Anthropocene or the Great Acceleration. Instead, their origins can be traced back to the ‘large planet’ philosophy of the nineteenth century, and the British food system which allowed more people to enjoy a more calorie-rich diet. Here Otter covers what Mann omits: the historic role of Britain’s dietary transformation in the shaping of our present global food system.

In this persuasively argued critique, Otter traces the origins of the modern diet to Britain’s eating habits and the way different types of food were perceived in the nineteenth century. Focusing on Britain’s desire for meat, sugar and wheat, Diet for a large planet shows how the country’s almost insatiable historic desire for these commodities has transformed global land use and, in turn, increased carbon emissions and facilitated extinctions. The outsourcing of the country’s nutritional needs and the foodways which emerged paved the way for a global agri-food system that consumes more resources than the planet is able to sustain. Otter’s perceptive analysis shows how prevailing diets of choice, consisting of red meat, wheat bread and sugar are linked to luxury, wealth and power, and contribute to environmental degradation and climate change.

Otter is primarily concerned with exploring the long-term causes of international specialization which was facilitated by the development of free trade and colonialism. The historical ideological foundations which underpin the emergence and dominance of the British commitment to free trade are perceptively explored. In his seminal work The wealth of nations, the ardent supporter of free trade, Adam Smith, persuasively argued that government intervention in the food supply system was responsible for causing rather than preventing famines. More importantly, he argued that if commodities could be acquired more cheaply from overseas then it was in Britain’s interest to import them. This was further refined by the Ricardian model of comparative advantage which was practised, vindicated and perpetuated until well into the twentieth century. Otter’s historical perspective significantly enhances our understanding of how and why the prevailing global system has become politically and epistemologically so firmly ingrained.

Implicit in Otter’s thesis is the idea that these changes occurred in a linear fashion without any significant reversals. Scant attention is paid to the non-trivial changes in the British diet which were implemented by the state in response to the food shortages of both the First and Second World Wars, especially the latter. The enforced reduction in imports of staples such as wheat, meat and sugar necessitated an unprecedented state-directed transformation of the nation’s diet. The experience of state-directed food production and food distribution of the Second World War reveals the extent to which the country’s eating habits can be successfully transformed in order to deal with a food shortage of unparalleled proportions. To cite but a single example, the enforced reduction in wheat which took place during the Second World War led to considerable efforts to change the type of bread baked. As introducing bread rationing was considered unacceptable, efforts focused on increasing the extraction rate (the amount of flour extracted from the wheat) so that it contained a greater amount of bran, used in what was called the national loaf. In the longer term, this led to the development of milling varieties of British wheat, which could be used instead of hard-grained varieties used in bread production. In a similar way, Otter pays scant regard to the post-war scientific efforts to enhance the output and productivity of British agriculture in order to reduce dependency on imported food. Consideration of the wartime and post-war developments, largely neglected by Otter, would have enabled a slightly more positive interpretation of the inherent weaknesses in the prevailing global food system. Overall, Diet for a large planet offers a rather frightening, pessimistic prognostication into the future of what is deemed to be our unsustainable global food supply system and its adverse impact on the environment. The book will be particularly appealing to those interested in Britain’s role in the global food system, environment and patterns of food consumption.

Diet for a large planet and Food in a changing climate complement each other well and provide informed assessments of the workings and development of our present global food system. Together they enhance our understanding of its vulnerabilities and why reform is so essential.