wivireads's review against another edition
3.0
This book is an important read but I gave it 3 stars due to the fact that it is not something I would have picked up willingly if school did not tell me to. Nevertheless, I must say that this book opened my mind about the different centuries struggles with food supplies, food trades, sustainability and how the different technological enchancements might not help us in the long run with out harvests and we could be doomed.
The authors write very humorously, and we follow a historical figure by the name of "Francesco Carletti" for half of the book, which for me, is something new in an educational book. Hence, as much as this is not a book I would have pick up myself if not for school, it was nontheless an important read and topic to have in the back of our minds about our current lows and higs of our "empire of food".
(Spoilers under this paragraph about the contents of the book // Quotes)
A quote that made me think:
"...What would happen if the 2008 harvest had failed? Prices wouldn't have subsided, nor would have the rioters' fury. And what if an environmental catastrophe - like a drought in the American Midwest or in northern China or a rise in global temperatures - were to disrupt several harvests in a row? In 2008, we got lucky. The sun shone and the rains fell in the right amount and at the right times. But what if the planet had played rough?"
About artificial food today:
"In the 1950s, Borlaug and his team worked under the scientific shackles of their time. They could only cross varieties; they weren't able to genetically cook up a plant to order. Today, biochemists can select the genes they want and pair them with choices from a menu of speciality fertilizers."
The authors write very humorously, and we follow a historical figure by the name of "Francesco Carletti" for half of the book, which for me, is something new in an educational book. Hence, as much as this is not a book I would have pick up myself if not for school, it was nontheless an important read and topic to have in the back of our minds about our current lows and higs of our "empire of food".
(Spoilers under this paragraph about the contents of the book // Quotes)
A quote that made me think:
"...What would happen if the 2008 harvest had failed? Prices wouldn't have subsided, nor would have the rioters' fury. And what if an environmental catastrophe - like a drought in the American Midwest or in northern China or a rise in global temperatures - were to disrupt several harvests in a row? In 2008, we got lucky. The sun shone and the rains fell in the right amount and at the right times. But what if the planet had played rough?"
About artificial food today:
"In the 1950s, Borlaug and his team worked under the scientific shackles of their time. They could only cross varieties; they weren't able to genetically cook up a plant to order. Today, biochemists can select the genes they want and pair them with choices from a menu of speciality fertilizers."
emmawight's review
4.0
Pros:
-Very entertainingly written with concise knowledge on the topics at hand.
-Covers a variety of factors without delving too hard into the complexities, rather focusing on a few cases to demonstrate their talking points.
-Thought-provoking, and inspiring me to live closer to a more sustainable food diet.
Cons:
-Doesn't cover absolutely everything, mostly missing out on or glazing over topics that have become more prominent in the past 12 years or so.
-I found the framework of Carletti to be more of an anecdotal distraction than a good structure to write from.
-Very entertainingly written with concise knowledge on the topics at hand.
-Covers a variety of factors without delving too hard into the complexities, rather focusing on a few cases to demonstrate their talking points.
-Thought-provoking, and inspiring me to live closer to a more sustainable food diet.
Cons:
-Doesn't cover absolutely everything, mostly missing out on or glazing over topics that have become more prominent in the past 12 years or so.
-I found the framework of Carletti to be more of an anecdotal distraction than a good structure to write from.
relytolley's review
3.0
read my review at my food blog: http://www.potlikkery.com/2010/11/serious-dense-food-history.html
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