Sitopia: How Food Can Save the World
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- Create Date：2021-06-20 07:50:56
- Update Date：2025-09-07
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- Author：Carolyn Steel
- ISBN：0099590131
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Summary
'A visionary look at how quality food should replace money as the new world currency' Tim Spector
'Hugely ambitious and beautifully written。。。destined to become a modern classic' Bee Wilson
How we search for， make and consume food has defined human history。 It transforms our bodies and homes， our politics and our trade， our landscapes and our climate。 But by forgetting our culinary heritage and relying on cheap， intensively produced food， we have drifted into a way of life that threatens our planet and ourselves。
What if there were a more sustainable way to eat and live？ Drawing on many disciplines， as well as stories of the farmers， designers and economists who are remaking our relationship with food， this inspiring and deeply thoughtful book gives us a provocative and exhilarating vision for change， and points the way to a better future。
'Utterly brilliant' Thomasina Miers
*Shortlisted for the Wainwright Prize 2020*
'Hugely ambitious and beautifully written。。。destined to become a modern classic' Bee Wilson
How we search for， make and consume food has defined human history。 It transforms our bodies and homes， our politics and our trade， our landscapes and our climate。 But by forgetting our culinary heritage and relying on cheap， intensively produced food， we have drifted into a way of life that threatens our planet and ourselves。
What if there were a more sustainable way to eat and live？ Drawing on many disciplines， as well as stories of the farmers， designers and economists who are remaking our relationship with food， this inspiring and deeply thoughtful book gives us a provocative and exhilarating vision for change， and points the way to a better future。
'Utterly brilliant' Thomasina Miers
*Shortlisted for the Wainwright Prize 2020*
Reviews
Prisca Pfammatter
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Nice comprehensive book about our food system。 A cool introduction to many of its sicks and some possible solutions
Snorki
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Lots of interesting ideas in there but not quite a compelling read。 I liked the idea of food being central to so much of what makes us human， and there is lots of research and analysis presented in an accessible way。 However， it did feel just a little bit disjointed - the scope is large and perhaps that is some of the challenge - Carolyn covers a huge area without quite tying all the elements together。 And as others have commented， it’s quite pessimistic in terms of spending a lot of time talkin Lots of interesting ideas in there but not quite a compelling read。 I liked the idea of food being central to so much of what makes us human， and there is lots of research and analysis presented in an accessible way。 However， it did feel just a little bit disjointed - the scope is large and perhaps that is some of the challenge - Carolyn covers a huge area without quite tying all the elements together。 And as others have commented， it’s quite pessimistic in terms of spending a lot of time talking about the problems， but not offering much in the way of solutions。 But definitely an interesting book， and I am glad that I read it - felt that I learned some things， and it’s left me with some things to think about， which is always a good sign。 。。。more
Woutervangysel
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A philosophical historical approach of food。 Very interesting but often too wide reaching。 A greater attention to the solutions， she does offer， would make the book more effective。
Celina
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Initially I wanted to give this book more than “just” 3 stars because of the theme and the overall idea Carolyn Steel presents， as it’s obviously a desired state。 Also， I applaud the amounts of research behind the book。 My reasons for not giving more stars are:1） There is too much packed into one book， making me feel lost here and there （why it took me so long to read）。 2） The idea of a Sitopia， as mentioned， is desired， however， very idealistic and one-sided。 There’s a very negative portrayal o Initially I wanted to give this book more than “just” 3 stars because of the theme and the overall idea Carolyn Steel presents， as it’s obviously a desired state。 Also， I applaud the amounts of research behind the book。 My reasons for not giving more stars are:1） There is too much packed into one book， making me feel lost here and there （why it took me so long to read）。 2） The idea of a Sitopia， as mentioned， is desired， however， very idealistic and one-sided。 There’s a very negative portrayal of our current society and of capitalism that I think weakens the overall argument。 3） In my opinion， although making a case for a Sitopian society it lacks concrete suggestions to actually get there。I do think I will be returning to this book in the future because it has a lot of ideas that I think we should strive towards， but I wish it was stronger in its argument。 。。。more
Cliff。Hanger。Books
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“Home is a response to landscape formed by an idea of how to live。 It is always shaped by food: if one lives by gathering berries and hunting bison， for example， ones home is going to look very different to that of someone who farms。 We inhabit the world according to our inherited culture， the cumulative results of generations of our ancestors efforts to survive in certain terrains” Carolyn Steel makes a case to rethink our cities as places not only for the detached consumption of food， but of m “Home is a response to landscape formed by an idea of how to live。 It is always shaped by food: if one lives by gathering berries and hunting bison， for example， ones home is going to look very different to that of someone who farms。 We inhabit the world according to our inherited culture， the cumulative results of generations of our ancestors efforts to survive in certain terrains” Carolyn Steel makes a case to rethink our cities as places not only for the detached consumption of food， but of mindful cultivation。 If you haven’t given much thought to how much the food we consume says about the world we live in you should read this book。 If you been obsessed with the subject like I am， it won’t be a disappointment， she has her moments。 You might though， find it repetitive if you have read Pollan， Barber and Harari， she builds a lot on them 。。。more
Alfi
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I liked the approach。 I like how the author brought the reader's attention in the early chapters。 I don't know， in the midway， I lost my interest to finish this book。 It has a broad topic， difficult to concentrate on。 Perhaps it's just me。 The topic is too broad and this book has to be read when you are not in hurry， take your time to digest。 But I like the topic， it's about the how we solve our food problem in this crisis era。 I liked the approach。 I like how the author brought the reader's attention in the early chapters。 I don't know， in the midway， I lost my interest to finish this book。 It has a broad topic， difficult to concentrate on。 Perhaps it's just me。 The topic is too broad and this book has to be read when you are not in hurry， take your time to digest。 But I like the topic， it's about the how we solve our food problem in this crisis era。 。。。more
Lisa of Hopewell
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I learned of this book via: https://superfluousreading。wordpress。。。。 I learned of this book via: https://superfluousreading。wordpress。。。。 。。。more
Anjana
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This book contains more fodder for thought than I expected from a book about ‘food’。 The content picks off from the author’s previous work which I have not had the opportunity to read， but I just might。The chapters are widely divided into the following criteria: food， body， home， society， city and country， nature and time。 Each chapter then does an in-depth drill into the past， the present and the future of trends， possibilities and sensibilities of the people of the time。It was a fascinating bo This book contains more fodder for thought than I expected from a book about ‘food’。 The content picks off from the author’s previous work which I have not had the opportunity to read， but I just might。The chapters are widely divided into the following criteria: food， body， home， society， city and country， nature and time。 Each chapter then does an in-depth drill into the past， the present and the future of trends， possibilities and sensibilities of the people of the time。It was a fascinating book that I could （for once） read at a stretch if time worked in my favour。 I had to surface once in a while to spout any relevant， interesting point to anyone within listening distance。 I cannot talk of individual facts because there’d be too many; one can use this as a call to reexamine trends of consumption。 The author talks of how access to and requirement of food for sustenance helped design civilization。The sources of information are straightforward and elaborate。 It is a book I would highly recommend to people on the lookout for a well-written introspective book about how food continues to shape us and how we might want to take an active role in shaping our behaviour in that regard to save our futures。The book does not look at anything with rose-coloured glasses and has a lot of hard truths within it， and the content will take a while to digest completely （if one can ignore the bad， unintentional pun here）。⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Rating: 5 out of 5。I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience。 。。。more
Di Fu
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Philosophy of food and a good life。
Emily
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I am conflicted in rating this book as for the first 2/3rds I loved it。 Superb ideas intelligently rendered。 However， this book is like trying to eat the chocolate cake in Matilda: just too rich and in too great a volume。 The end portion is also。。。 how do I put this。。。 incredibly depressing。 Steel outlines all the ways the planet is doomed。 Desperately I was hoping for solutions， but no。 Unless I was a dictator over the entire world it seems pretty impossible to change anything meaningful due to I am conflicted in rating this book as for the first 2/3rds I loved it。 Superb ideas intelligently rendered。 However， this book is like trying to eat the chocolate cake in Matilda: just too rich and in too great a volume。 The end portion is also。。。 how do I put this。。。 incredibly depressing。 Steel outlines all the ways the planet is doomed。 Desperately I was hoping for solutions， but no。 Unless I was a dictator over the entire world it seems pretty impossible to change anything meaningful due to the dominance of capitalism and lack of international cooperation。 Call me naive， but I was hoping for practical advice for how to save the planet on a smaller scale。 。。。more
Noemi
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I tried。 This is a look at food through the lenses of society， but the reach is just too broad。 I can appreciate the work being done， but referencing to Aristotle and Rousseau and Harari on literally every page just isn't cutting it for me。 I keep asking myself where is this going。 And then， when the author states her own facts I'm asking myself : isn't that just an opinion？ Could it be brought up in a more nuanced manner？Don't misunderstand me。 EVERYTHING was interesting。 It's just not linear e I tried。 This is a look at food through the lenses of society， but the reach is just too broad。 I can appreciate the work being done， but referencing to Aristotle and Rousseau and Harari on literally every page just isn't cutting it for me。 I keep asking myself where is this going。 And then， when the author states her own facts I'm asking myself : isn't that just an opinion？ Could it be brought up in a more nuanced manner？Don't misunderstand me。 EVERYTHING was interesting。 It's just not linear enough to keep me going。This might not be a definitive DNF but for now I'll just have to put it aside。 。。。more
Eliza
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3。5* This book taught me that I like Carolyn Steele。 However， it also taught me that I read the wrong text。 I should have gone for Hungry City。 Because here the parts that were truly about food and agriculture were brilliant。 The other half of the book - the ingredients to the dish called “Sitopia” - were coherent， but of no interest to me。 Others might find them more meaningful， but I must agree with another goodreads reviewer who said that at times the book feels “chatty”。 It does。 But again， 3。5* This book taught me that I like Carolyn Steele。 However， it also taught me that I read the wrong text。 I should have gone for Hungry City。 Because here the parts that were truly about food and agriculture were brilliant。 The other half of the book - the ingredients to the dish called “Sitopia” - were coherent， but of no interest to me。 Others might find them more meaningful， but I must agree with another goodreads reviewer who said that at times the book feels “chatty”。 It does。 But again， even if I appreciated only 50% of it， it’s a worthy book and I will surely pick up Hungry City in the near future。 Hope even to meet fellow architect Carolyn Steele。 。。。more
Marc Buckley
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Carolyn Steel is a wonderful person and an amazing author who provides the accurate big history of food in the city and multiple ways food affects every part of our lives specifically how it has shaped up in cities。 Her book Sitopia means Food Place。 My favorite quote from Carolyn that is so true， "To Cheapen Food is to Cheapen Life！" To find out see my interview with Carolyn on my Video Podcat Please Subscribe and like。 https://youtu。be/eq-nQifAU-YOr check out the link below: https://www。innova Carolyn Steel is a wonderful person and an amazing author who provides the accurate big history of food in the city and multiple ways food affects every part of our lives specifically how it has shaped up in cities。 Her book Sitopia means Food Place。 My favorite quote from Carolyn that is so true， "To Cheapen Food is to Cheapen Life！" To find out see my interview with Carolyn on my Video Podcat Please Subscribe and like。 https://youtu。be/eq-nQifAU-YOr check out the link below: https://www。innovatorsmag。com/inside-。。。 。。。more
M A H THOMLINSON
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Sweeping。 Many interesting sections， good arguments， and food for thought- including a few dabs of philosophy。 Very well researched but betrayed by the chatty style。 Made it very readable， but also less convincing。
Ryan
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Fantastic， essential， and inspiring。
Maarten
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This is an important book for anyone working in food to read now， in times of （corona） crisis。 There is a lot of talk about what 'the world after corona' could be。 And also - probably justified - a lot of criticism about the idea that the world "after corona" will be significantly different from the one we had before。 Nevertheless， this current pandemic makes a number of existing crises in the world more visible that need more attention。 Inequality， underpaid essential jobs and specifically in t This is an important book for anyone working in food to read now， in times of （corona） crisis。 There is a lot of talk about what 'the world after corona' could be。 And also - probably justified - a lot of criticism about the idea that the world "after corona" will be significantly different from the one we had before。 Nevertheless， this current pandemic makes a number of existing crises in the world more visible that need more attention。 Inequality， underpaid essential jobs and specifically in the world of food: a global dependence on a food system that is unsustainable in the long run， because it is too dependent on unsustainable inputs like cheap labour， oil and fertilizers。This book forces the reader to rethink how utopian we may be when we think about the future of the world。 The central question is: "What would the world be like if we appreciated food again？"。 Carolyn Steel takes us down this rabbit hole， visiting great philosophers and contemporary thinkers， entrepreneurs and activists along the way。The book is divided into seven chapters， from close to the individual to larger and more abstract: Food， Body， Home， Society， City and Countryside， Nature， Time。It is not a light read。 I tried to finish the book in a week because I had a conversation about the book planned on a specific date。 That did not work for me and it is probably not the best way to read this book。 A chapter a week and a lot of reflecting/ digesting works better。 。。。more
Anna
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