The Way We Eat Now

Bee Wilson shows that in two generations the world has undergone a massive shift from traditional, limited diets to more globalized ways of eating. 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.

Quotes:

Wilson sets out to demonstrate how dysfunctional our attitude to taking nourishment from the world has become. She is adept at finding the bold headlines, Wilson is also good at the devastating detail. Unlike several other food writers, Wilson's solutions remain rooted and realistic. ―Times Literary Supplement (UK)

In The Way We Eat Now, Wilson questions the entire food system as she addresses the paradox of our age: why as we become progressively wealthier, our diets become ever poorer.... Processed foods, a voracious marketing machine, faddiness, Instagram, yo-yo diets, sedentary lifestyles, takeaway apps -- the villains of the piece are familiar and plentiful and Wilson lays them bare in her typically scholarly way. ―The Times (UK)

Bee Wilson's deep dive into the causes and consequences of today's unsustainable -- but now worldwide -- eating patterns is nothing less than a call to action. We must change today's Global Standard Diet to one that promotes planetary as well as our own health. ―Marion Nestle, professor of nutrition, food studies, and public health at New York University

Bee Wilson has done it again. With a sharp eye and engaging narrative, Bee chronicles how our current food culture represents the best and worst of times. If you've ever felt conflicted about what to eat, here's the book that untangles the complex story of how we got here and where we might go, giving us an enlightening account that's as sobering as it is enjoyable. A prescient, important book. ―Dan Barber, chef and co-owner of Blue Hill and Blue Hill at Stone Barns, and author of The Third Plate