Eating to Extinction: The World's Rarest Foods and Why We Need to Save Them
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- Create Date：2022-01-22 08:40:57
- Update Date：2025-09-23
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- Author：Dan Saladino
- ISBN：0374605327
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Summary
Dan Saladino's Eating to Extinction is the prominent broadcaster’s pathbreaking tour of the world’s vanishing foods and his argument for why they matter now more than ever
Over the past several decades， globalization has homogenized what we eat， and done so ruthlessly。 The numbers are stark: Of the roughly six thousand different plants once consumed by human beings， only nine remain major staples today。 Just three of these—rice， wheat， and corn—now provide fifty percent of all our calories。 Dig deeper and the trends are more worrisome still:
The source of much of the world’s food—seeds—is mostly in the control of just four corporations。 Ninety-five percent of milk consumed in the United States comes from a single breed of cow。 Half of all the world’s cheese is made with bacteria or enzymes made by one company。 And one in four beers drunk around the world is the product of one brewer。
If it strikes you that everything is starting to taste the same wherever you are in the world， you’re by no means alone。 This matters: when we lose diversity and foods become endangered， we not only risk the loss of traditional foodways， but also of flavors， smells， and textures that may never be experienced again。 And the consolidation of our food has other steep costs， including a lack of resilience in the face of climate change， pests， and parasites。 Our food monoculture is a threat to our health—and to the planet。
In Eating to Extinction， the distinguished BBC food journalist Dan Saladino travels the world to experience and document our most at-risk foods before it’s too late。 He tells the fascinating stories of the people who continue to cultivate， forage， hunt， cook， and consume what the rest of us have forgotten or didn’t even know existed。 Take honey—not the familiar product sold in plastic bottles， but the wild honey gathered by the Hadza people of East Africa， whose diet consists of eight hundred different plants and animals and who communicate with birds in order to locate bees’ nests。 Or consider murnong—once the staple food of Aboriginal Australians， this small root vegetable with the sweet taste of coconut is undergoing a revival after nearly being driven to extinction。 And in Sierra Leone， there are just a few surviving stenophylla trees， a plant species now considered crucial to the future of coffee。
From an Indigenous American chef refining precolonial recipes to farmers tending Geechee red peas on the Sea Islands of Georgia， the individuals profiled in Eating to Extinction are essential guides to treasured foods that have endured in the face of rampant sameness and standardization。 They also provide a roadmap to a food system that is healthier， more robust， and， above all， richer in flavor and meaning。
Over the past several decades， globalization has homogenized what we eat， and done so ruthlessly。 The numbers are stark: Of the roughly six thousand different plants once consumed by human beings， only nine remain major staples today。 Just three of these—rice， wheat， and corn—now provide fifty percent of all our calories。 Dig deeper and the trends are more worrisome still:
The source of much of the world’s food—seeds—is mostly in the control of just four corporations。 Ninety-five percent of milk consumed in the United States comes from a single breed of cow。 Half of all the world’s cheese is made with bacteria or enzymes made by one company。 And one in four beers drunk around the world is the product of one brewer。
If it strikes you that everything is starting to taste the same wherever you are in the world， you’re by no means alone。 This matters: when we lose diversity and foods become endangered， we not only risk the loss of traditional foodways， but also of flavors， smells， and textures that may never be experienced again。 And the consolidation of our food has other steep costs， including a lack of resilience in the face of climate change， pests， and parasites。 Our food monoculture is a threat to our health—and to the planet。
In Eating to Extinction， the distinguished BBC food journalist Dan Saladino travels the world to experience and document our most at-risk foods before it’s too late。 He tells the fascinating stories of the people who continue to cultivate， forage， hunt， cook， and consume what the rest of us have forgotten or didn’t even know existed。 Take honey—not the familiar product sold in plastic bottles， but the wild honey gathered by the Hadza people of East Africa， whose diet consists of eight hundred different plants and animals and who communicate with birds in order to locate bees’ nests。 Or consider murnong—once the staple food of Aboriginal Australians， this small root vegetable with the sweet taste of coconut is undergoing a revival after nearly being driven to extinction。 And in Sierra Leone， there are just a few surviving stenophylla trees， a plant species now considered crucial to the future of coffee。
From an Indigenous American chef refining precolonial recipes to farmers tending Geechee red peas on the Sea Islands of Georgia， the individuals profiled in Eating to Extinction are essential guides to treasured foods that have endured in the face of rampant sameness and standardization。 They also provide a roadmap to a food system that is healthier， more robust， and， above all， richer in flavor and meaning。
Reviews
Tim
，
A series of short but fascinating accounts of endangered foods and food making techniques， and the people fighting to preserve them。 These foods aren’t just of historical interest but， as Saladino clearly argues， could be vital in our efforts to feed humanity in a rapidly changing world。 Be prepared， though， for some sad tales of what is being lost。
Tim Joseph
，
My thanks to Netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an unbiased review。4。5 for sure！Truly a book written for those who grow， cook or enjoy food as well as history buffs！ Exploring thru a wide variety of food-types， Saladino delivers to us the unvarnished truth of how human consumption is changing the biodiversity of the planet， and potentially setting up humanity for a fall。The way he explains how monocultures have grown to such staggering amounts， hoe it has created a scarcity of divers My thanks to Netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an unbiased review。4。5 for sure！Truly a book written for those who grow， cook or enjoy food as well as history buffs！ Exploring thru a wide variety of food-types， Saladino delivers to us the unvarnished truth of how human consumption is changing the biodiversity of the planet， and potentially setting up humanity for a fall。The way he explains how monocultures have grown to such staggering amounts， hoe it has created a scarcity of diversity in the food we consume， and how that is a shakey solution at best is both well documented and entertaining！ Think of it as a planet earth special。。。 just about food。 From wheat to coffee， fish to cheese and pigs and all in between， there is much to be said about those nutritional warriors fighting to keep diversity in our food！Full of illuminating statistics and amazing firsthand accounts， this will go down as a touchstone for future food writing， and producing to be sure！ 。。。more
Karen
，
So much great material！ Our food system has become so homogenized; we're losing out on our food history and the variety we should crave。 Biodiversity is essential， not only for historical reasons， but for our health and the health of the planet。 I loved hearing about so many people all over the world making immense efforts to sustain or bring back the diversity in foods。 When the end goal is only quantity without an emphasis on quality， we end up with foods that lack flavor and nutrients。 Next t So much great material！ Our food system has become so homogenized; we're losing out on our food history and the variety we should crave。 Biodiversity is essential， not only for historical reasons， but for our health and the health of the planet。 I loved hearing about so many people all over the world making immense efforts to sustain or bring back the diversity in foods。 When the end goal is only quantity without an emphasis on quality， we end up with foods that lack flavor and nutrients。 Next time you're grocery shopping， look for varieties you haven't tried and help encourage stores to carry a wider variety of foods， thereby helping those growing the foods to continue their work。Thanks to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the ALC in exchange for my honest review。 。。。more
Nok Pkp
，
Fascinating book about rare food。 Full of interesting facts and history of its。 It's feel like travel the world to a tiny corner of that foods。 Writer show us an important of foods source and it diversity。 The future of us depend on food diversity too。 Fascinating book about rare food。 Full of interesting facts and history of its。 It's feel like travel the world to a tiny corner of that foods。 Writer show us an important of foods source and it diversity。 The future of us depend on food diversity too。 。。。more
McKenzie
，
I am a self-proclaimed foodie。 I love reading about the history of different food， watching cooking shows， and testing out new recipes on my poor unsuspecting roommate。 This book interested me because it discusses biodiversity and the decline of diversity in our own diets。 It's interesting to think about how a majority of our seeds come from four major corporations and the changes it is having on our environment and health。 This remind me of why I continue to push my mother to buy heirloom seeds I am a self-proclaimed foodie。 I love reading about the history of different food， watching cooking shows， and testing out new recipes on my poor unsuspecting roommate。 This book interested me because it discusses biodiversity and the decline of diversity in our own diets。 It's interesting to think about how a majority of our seeds come from four major corporations and the changes it is having on our environment and health。 This remind me of why I continue to push my mother to buy heirloom seeds for her garden whenever I can。 The range of foods discussed is quite wide， ranging from honey to roots。 It's filled with stories and information that will pique the interest of any food lover。 Thank you to the author， Farrar， Straus， and Giroux， and Netgalley for providing me with an eARC of this book。 All thoughts and opinions are my own。 。。。more
Hannah
，
Excellent book。 Saladino documents all the unusual grains， wild foods， fruits， vegetables， meats， fish， cheese， even beers and wines and stimulants that are at risk of extinction because they've been abandoned in favor of a more homogenized， white-bread diet。 Crops have been bred for increased yield rather than taste， and we've lost most of our diversity in the process。 This could be catastrophic in the event of diseases （like rust for coffee or Fusarium head blight for wheat）， pests， or climate Excellent book。 Saladino documents all the unusual grains， wild foods， fruits， vegetables， meats， fish， cheese， even beers and wines and stimulants that are at risk of extinction because they've been abandoned in favor of a more homogenized， white-bread diet。 Crops have been bred for increased yield rather than taste， and we've lost most of our diversity in the process。 This could be catastrophic in the event of diseases （like rust for coffee or Fusarium head blight for wheat）， pests， or climate change。 （Or all three， which is our likely future scenario， since climate change encourages more fungi and pests。） The upshot is that we need to start growing ancient crops and raising some of the older breeds of animals if we want to have a food supply in the future。 。。。more
marta the book slayer
，
I'm just as a surprised as you are that a book about food didn't excite me as much as I assumed it would。 I think this stems from two things （and really maybe they are the same thing）: 1。 the topics felt a bit repetitive despite focusing on different food 2。the style of writing was hard for me to pay attention to for long periods of time。 The book is structured into different types of food: wild （honey， bear root， etc）， cereal， vegetables， meat， seafood， fruit， cheese， alcohol， stimulants， and s I'm just as a surprised as you are that a book about food didn't excite me as much as I assumed it would。 I think this stems from two things （and really maybe they are the same thing）: 1。 the topics felt a bit repetitive despite focusing on different food 2。the style of writing was hard for me to pay attention to for long periods of time。 The book is structured into different types of food: wild （honey， bear root， etc）， cereal， vegetables， meat， seafood， fruit， cheese， alcohol， stimulants， and sweets。 That's a lot of information to cramp into a book！！！ I enjoyed the way it was broken down and truth be told a lot of this food I have never even heard of （probably because it's going extinct）。 My main issue was that a lot of the times the history of the food was very similar。 It prevailed at some point in time， was used by the region's people， a "better" alternate was introduced that was easier to grow， people found that it was more susceptible to diseases/ required pesticides/ lacked nutrients， someone out there preserved a couple of seeds， and someone else has since been growing the food and trying to restore the historical way of eating。 The first time you read this structure you say to yourself wow that is crazy that really just a couple of seeds can make all the difference or what am i even eating， how many foods have i lost that really have all the nutrients i need。 After a while of this same story， it feels too repetitive and you get bored。 As you know history has a way of repeating itself， and although I found the categorization of different food originally a helpful way of breaking up the story maybe it would have been easier to digest （pun fully intended） if the story of foods that shared similar histories were grouped instead。 That way I could focus more on what the food actually is and the value of it instead of following the same story outline。 While reading this I ended up kind of finding it a bore。 It felt hard for me to pay attention and fully understand what I need to grasp from each chapter。 For this reason I would suggest you take this in small chunks， maybe only focus on one story a day。 Due to the looming deadline of providing feedback， I rushed through this a bit and didn't have such a pleasant reading experience。 Overall， I think this would be one I would like to revisit in print。 I definitely think this is a topic not discussed often and as I focus more on women's health it is interesting to hear how creative we have to be with our diets in order to get all the nutrients we need - when in reality some of these ancient and rare foods would supplement our bodies。 I would also be lying if at times I were not salivating at the descriptions of the food。 I got a little sad by the fact that I might never be able to give those foods a try， unless they are saved and shared amongst everyone （which is my hope）。Thank you Farrar， Straus and Giroux and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an unbiased and honest review 。。。more
Mo
，
Essential reading for anyone interested on how important our food is not only to us but also to the planet and our futures。 This is one book that will remain on my bookshelf for re reading over and over。
Руслан
，
A really intriguing book， which will be interesting not only for the loving food， but for anyone who is interested in biodiversity。 The book really gives a broad look， explains the significance of different cultures， foods， gives historical remarks， and explains how the industry affects the environment。 I recommend！
Doc Martin
，
Another one of my top rated reads of 2021。 The book charts the decline in diversity of our food， and the fact that so many foods have become endangered。 Today the source of much of the world’s food and seeds are in the control of just four corporations。 Food diversity under the ‘Green Revolution’ has been sacrificed in favour of designed mono-crops that grow quickly and produce more。 An attempt to oversimplify nature。 However， the impact of climate change， especially warmer， wetter weather is ma Another one of my top rated reads of 2021。 The book charts the decline in diversity of our food， and the fact that so many foods have become endangered。 Today the source of much of the world’s food and seeds are in the control of just four corporations。 Food diversity under the ‘Green Revolution’ has been sacrificed in favour of designed mono-crops that grow quickly and produce more。 An attempt to oversimplify nature。 However， the impact of climate change， especially warmer， wetter weather is making these modern mono genetic crops more susceptible diseases that are spreading round the world。 Time to be worried by the level of food uniformity and the fact that we have abandoned thousands of highly adapted and resilient varieties。 Thankfully， the book is fully of the stories from pioneering individuals and communities around the world fighting for food diversity and preserving their food traditions。As the world focuses on the race to net zero at COP26 we must not forget the complex relationships between biodiversity， climate change and inequality。 。。。more
Oliwier
，