This October Routledge published the second edition of Food Wars: The Global Battle for Mouths, Minds and Markets written by Tim Lang and Michael Heasman. In the years since the publication of the first edition of the book, much has happened in the world of food policy. This new edition brings these developments fully up to date within the original analytical framework of competing paradigms or worldviews shaping the direction and decision-making within food politics and policy.
The first edition "broke new ground in exploring the competing paradigms that underpin modern food systems," according to Geoffrey Lawrence. The core theme of the book is the importance of integrating human and environmental health; a theme that has become all the more pressing as time passes.
In the first edition, Lang and Heasman brought together the different strands of emerging agendas and competing narratives. This edition retains the same core structure and includes updated examples, case studies and the new issues which show how these conflicting tendencies have played out in practice over recent years and what this tells us about the way the global food system is heading. Examples of key issues given increased attention include:
• Nutrition, including the global rise in obesity, as well as chronic conditions, hunger and under-nutrition
• The environment, particularly the challenges of climate change, biodiversity loss, water stress and food security
• Food industry concentration and market power
• Volatility and uncertainty over food prices and policy responses
• Tensions over food, democracy and citizenship
• Social and cultural aspects impacting food and nutrition policies.
Both heartening in narrative and realistic in vision, Food Wars is essential reading for anyone interested in the issues surrounding the global food system and its potential future.
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