Food and sustainability in the twenty-first century : cross-disciplinary perspectives /

Editors Collinson, Young, Antal, and Macbeth, all experts in the field of food and nutrition, present several global case studies on food sustainability. Part of Berghahn Books's "Anthropology of Food & Nutrition" series, this collection brings together contributors from disciplines as diverse as biology, ecology, and agriculture, hailing from Spain, France, Switzerland, Mexico, Italy, and the UK. Following a brief but thoughtful introduction that provides an overview of key issues and approaches, the book considers problems and promising practices in 13 chapters, ranging in scope from a single university's food waste intervention in the UK to the impact of meat production in India. The effect is uneven and eclectic, but that authors succeed in their hope that, taken together, "we can learn from each other's experiences and work together to combat food insecurity, inequalities over food access[,] and the effects of climate change by both adopting new technologies and learning from traditional farming practices, in order to create a circular food system that supports fauna, flora, and people" (p 8). Overall, a positive contribution to the field, with data-informed cases that complement surveys like Danielle Nierenberg's Nourished Planet (CH, Jan'19, 56-1915). Summing Up: Recommended. All readership levels. --Jonathan M. Deutsch, Drexel University