Nonfiction

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

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

  • Downloads：8110
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-06-06 03:16:04
  • Update Date：2025-09-23
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Mark Bittman
  • ISBN：1328974626
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Summary

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author and pioneering journalist， an expansive look at how history has been shaped by humanity’s appetite for food， farmland， and the money behind it all—and how a better future is within reach。

The story of humankind is usually told as one of technological innovation and economic influence—of arrowheads and atomic bombs， settlers and stock markets。 But behind it all， there is an even more fundamental driver: Food。

In Animal， Vegetable， Junk， trusted food authority Mark Bittman offers a panoramic view of how the frenzy for food has driven human history to some of its most catastrophic moments， from slavery and colonialism to famine and genocide—and to our current moment， wherein Big Food exacerbates climate change， plunders our planet， and sickens its people。 Even still， Bittman refuses to concede that the battle is lost， pointing to activists， workers， and governments around the world who are choosing well-being over corporate greed and gluttony， and fighting to free society from Big Food’s grip。

Sweeping， impassioned， and ultimately full of hope， Animal， Vegetable， Junk reveals not only how food has shaped our past， but also how we can transform it to reclaim our future。

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Reviews

Christina ，

I like Mark Bittman， but I think I was already aware of much of this information before reading it。Good for him though， for publicizing the importance of agriculture， government policy and individual responsibility。

Bryan ，

This is like reading a history book focused on how food affected every aspect of civilization。 It is really well done。 It is also very sad， the lessons that we learned and the things that we give up for corporations to make more money。 We give up things like health， community， and clean water to accommodate the demands of these large corporations。

Peter Tucker ，

I can't think of another author who has written a history of the politics of food。 Not Mark Bittman's politics， and not the broad expanse that his book encompasses。 His politics are not left or right， but they are pragmatic。 In an age of global warming， a pragmatic approach to solutions is maybe our best hope。 At the same time， his pragmatism is why I'm frustrated and maybe a little disappointed with the book。 I was hoping for fanfare and hard left calls for something dramatic。 And he is very cl I can't think of another author who has written a history of the politics of food。 Not Mark Bittman's politics， and not the broad expanse that his book encompasses。 His politics are not left or right， but they are pragmatic。 In an age of global warming， a pragmatic approach to solutions is maybe our best hope。 At the same time， his pragmatism is why I'm frustrated and maybe a little disappointed with the book。 I was hoping for fanfare and hard left calls for something dramatic。 And he is very clear about the problem， causes and suggested solutions。 His book is an excellent source of information and references to the science， research and work of others in the fields （literally）。 So maybe the drama is in the footnotes and extensive references。 Maybe in his notes and index， he's saying choose your battles。 。。。more

Bob Ackerley ，

Should be required reading

Martin Dubeci ，

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Tim Badmington ，

Starts off strong， but ends with a whimper。 I can't tell how much my eventual blah reaction to this is because this is turf I know pretty well or because it's actually pretty surface-level。 It's thorough， but doesn't feel rigorous。 It's a breezy read， and if you're not well versed in the climate-food overlap this is a good intro。 Starts off strong， but ends with a whimper。 I can't tell how much my eventual blah reaction to this is because this is turf I know pretty well or because it's actually pretty surface-level。 It's thorough， but doesn't feel rigorous。 It's a breezy read， and if you're not well versed in the climate-food overlap this is a good intro。 。。。more

Cindy ，

Disappointing。 There’s nothing new or different in this book。 It’s all been done before and in better ways。 The last 50 pages were the only ones I liked。

Stefanie ，

I couldn't get through it - way too focused on the American food system， not much about the rest of the world。 As others have mentioned， a lot of the information can be found in other books。 A decent book to skim through if you aren't already informed about the history of food systems。 I couldn't get through it - way too focused on the American food system， not much about the rest of the world。 As others have mentioned， a lot of the information can be found in other books。 A decent book to skim through if you aren't already informed about the history of food systems。 。。。more

Paul Deaton ，

The book is a snapshot of the current global food system。 Useful as a reminder， yet not much new information herein。

Michelle ，

Known as a cookbook writer， Mark Bittman steps outside of the box with this book。 He presents a clear， precise， and engaging history of how we ended up with our current food system and offers hope for change。 Capitalism drives our industrial food system， making us fat and sick while BigFood reaps huge profits and destroys the planet。 I highly recommend this one to anyone who eats。

Warren Taylor ，

Eye openingThe book is more about the politics of food than food itself。 It doesn’t answer where Rum was invented， for example。 It tells you about the slavery and abuses of the colonial system that grew the cane to make the rum。 It will open your eyes as to how abusive our entire history has been。

Ryan ，

In my top 5 I found that this book did a wonderful job connecting the dots between health， equity， ecology， farm worker welfare， and animal welfare。 As a Mark Bittman groupie， I had high expectations。。。and they were exceeded。 It’s in my top 5 food books of all time。

Laura ，

Excellent and disturbing。 Must read for anyone who eats。 I haven't been to the grocery store since。 Excellent and disturbing。 Must read for anyone who eats。 I haven't been to the grocery store since。 。。。more

Marilee ，

This was not quite what I expected it to be。 The book starts out reading like an AP world history text with an emphasis on food throughout history。 That probably sounds super dry， but it was fascinating and I learned a lot。 Once the book got to the 20th century it was more about how our modern day food system became what it did and why it needs to change。 This is something that I've thought about a lot the last few years， but I often feel overwhelmed at what I as an individual can do to help。 Bi This was not quite what I expected it to be。 The book starts out reading like an AP world history text with an emphasis on food throughout history。 That probably sounds super dry， but it was fascinating and I learned a lot。 Once the book got to the 20th century it was more about how our modern day food system became what it did and why it needs to change。 This is something that I've thought about a lot the last few years， but I often feel overwhelmed at what I as an individual can do to help。 Bittman addressed this somewhat， and I feel now that I'm doing a lot of the right things and hopefully the world and especially the US will get with the program soon。 。。。more

Nicole Robinson ，

I did wonder if there is anything I could get out of another book about sustainable food and agriculture， and I was proven wrong。 I greatly appreciated the way he brought in history and a social justice focus to address food。 Every chapter was excellent until the last part ，"Change，" which felt rushed and comes at the reader as an onslaught of information that was not really readable。 I like reading about progress and challenges to the system， and what various places/organisations are doing， but I did wonder if there is anything I could get out of another book about sustainable food and agriculture， and I was proven wrong。 I greatly appreciated the way he brought in history and a social justice focus to address food。 Every chapter was excellent until the last part ，"Change，" which felt rushed and comes at the reader as an onslaught of information that was not really readable。 I like reading about progress and challenges to the system， and what various places/organisations are doing， but would have appreciated a similar cadence as other chapters in the book--especially if he could have done interviews or profiles with people involved， etc。 I know he wrote much of this during the pandemic， limiting travel。 Basically I found the last two chapters challenging to read， though they are excellent references。 。。。more

Cara Wood ，

Mark Bittman chronicles our connection to food and land， forcing the reader to reflect on how our current ecological and public health crosses are fundamentally connected to the industrialization of modern society。 A fresh take on several themes that I had not seen connected in the way before。

Annie ，

DNF at 55%。 The ideological slant became too heavy-handed， and I was uncomfortable how the author seems to value these grand narratives over well-sourced analysis （even though I'm probably on the same page on a lot of issues）。 Interesting at many points， but I am worried about internalizing statements that are presented as obvious fact when they're the equivalent of an odd uncle making sweeping generalizations about the brokenness of the modern world over family dinner。 DNF at 55%。 The ideological slant became too heavy-handed， and I was uncomfortable how the author seems to value these grand narratives over well-sourced analysis （even though I'm probably on the same page on a lot of issues）。 Interesting at many points， but I am worried about internalizing statements that are presented as obvious fact when they're the equivalent of an odd uncle making sweeping generalizations about the brokenness of the modern world over family dinner。 。。。more

Alan Clark ，

Well researched， engaging exploration of agriculture’s past， present and future。

Stephanie ，

Every human should read this。 Our future （literally） depends on it。

Catherine Gentry ，

An important and exceptionally comprehensive look at the evolution of our food。 Information that took me 40 years to accumulate is presented extremely well in this book。 Should be read by all。 Unfortunately that won't be the case。 An important and exceptionally comprehensive look at the evolution of our food。 Information that took me 40 years to accumulate is presented extremely well in this book。 Should be read by all。 Unfortunately that won't be the case。 。。。more

Jackie ，

It took me days to read the first section of this book and hours to read the next two。 It really gains momentum as it goes。 What a succinct and damning review of our food and agricultural system。 The chapter called "Where We're At" was devastating。 The hope offered was too brief， but that's no fault of the author。 It took me days to read the first section of this book and hours to read the next two。 It really gains momentum as it goes。 What a succinct and damning review of our food and agricultural system。 The chapter called "Where We're At" was devastating。 The hope offered was too brief， but that's no fault of the author。 。。。more

Giangy Giang ，

This book is extremely informative。 The world we know is through the history of food！

Emily ，

A thorough and sobering look at how we came to eat the way we do and why that is a disaster。

Barbara ，

History-type book about food。Explains the development of factory farms and the Big Food industry。Despite the somewhat dire， definitely NOT nutritious situation with manufactured foods， Bittman is optimistic that concerned Eaters can create/demand health-promoting changes。

Dave Oakley ，

Really more like 3。5 but I'm a rounder upper by nature and Mark Bittman has improved my cooking/ability to improvise in the kitchen dramatically over the pandemic year， so I gotta give it 4。 My main complaints are that while his arguments seem generally correct， they don't go into the level of detail and the book as a whole is more preaching to the choir than something that could persuade people who aren't already convinced that the industrial food system is catastrophically flawed。 Really more like 3。5 but I'm a rounder upper by nature and Mark Bittman has improved my cooking/ability to improvise in the kitchen dramatically over the pandemic year， so I gotta give it 4。 My main complaints are that while his arguments seem generally correct， they don't go into the level of detail and the book as a whole is more preaching to the choir than something that could persuade people who aren't already convinced that the industrial food system is catastrophically flawed。 。。。more

Tatiana E。Orlov ，

I liked it more than I expected to， given Bittman’s history of making “revelations” on issues many other folks have been sounding the alarm on for years。 For someone who has no insight into the history of our broken global food systems — this is a concise primer。 More familiar content for me， and definitely short-shifts folks like Wendell Berry， who’ve been writing on the topic of land degradation as symptom of cultural rot for over 50 years。 Also， go read some Wendell Berry。

Ruth ，

Interesting， but so depressing I couldn't finish it。 Interesting， but so depressing I couldn't finish it。 。。。more

Walter ，

After all there was a warning: if junk is in the title then it is nearly inevitable that it will also be in the content 。。。。This is NOT a book about food as such but more a polemic against the US food industry and the government which protects it。 Absolutely a waste for non-American readers。

Leanne ，

Informative look at the food industry past， present and future。

Jim Folger ，

Mark Bittman has provided us with some comprehensive， wide-ranging， eye-opening insights into the world of agriculture and food。 What was truly illuminating was the evolution and dominance of industrial farming， and how business profited in creating canned and processed alternatives to natural products。 Monoculture farming， and taking the most expeditious course of action， was the going practice。 Resources were used up， soil and land exhausted， culminating in events like the great Dust Bowl of t Mark Bittman has provided us with some comprehensive， wide-ranging， eye-opening insights into the world of agriculture and food。 What was truly illuminating was the evolution and dominance of industrial farming， and how business profited in creating canned and processed alternatives to natural products。 Monoculture farming， and taking the most expeditious course of action， was the going practice。 Resources were used up， soil and land exhausted， culminating in events like the great Dust Bowl of the 1930s。 Capitalism without a conscience， and the inability to consider long-term effects have been the hallmark of the American economy。Junk foods/convenience foods/fast foods have satisfied the overly busy household， to the exclusion of proper nutrition， with an overabundance of fat and sugar to contributing to an obese population。 Bittman repeats the mantra of less meat and more grains and vegetables， which is absolutely correct， but largely ignored。 Humans are what they eat。The author ends by offering some hope for change in the renewed focus on on localized farming and distribution。 One of the real keys to success is having local and national governments that can lead in changing the public view。 An example sited was the City of Copenhagen where they are using 90% organic ingredients for their 80，000 daily meals provided to schools， medical centers， and employee cafeterias。 What remains to be seen is whether or not the changes can have a major effect in a world that is struggling meet the food demands of its growing world population。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Animal, Vegetable, Junk: A History of Food, from Sustainable to Suicidal

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Animal, Vegetable, Junk: A History of Food, from Sustainable to Suicidal&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Animal, Vegetable, Junk: A History of Food, from Sustainable to Suicidal&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0