Ravenous

How to get ourselves and our planet into shape

Henry Dimbleby author Jemima Lewis author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Profile Books Ltd

Published:4th Jan '24

Should be back in stock very soon

Ravenous cover

Henry Dimbleby's Ravenous is a vital exploration of the food system's impact on health and the environment, advocating for necessary change.

In Ravenous, Henry Dimbleby presents a compelling manifesto aimed at transforming the food system. This book explores the intricate interplay between food production, consumption, and health, emphasizing that our current food landscape is not just a means of sustenance but a complex web of innovation and destruction. Dimbleby highlights alarming statistics, revealing that diet-related diseases now surpass smoking as the leading cause of preventable illness and death in developed nations. The environmental implications are equally dire, as the food system contributes significantly to climate change and threatens global food security.

Dimbleby takes readers on a journey behind the scenes, uncovering the mechanisms that shape our modern diets. He discusses how corporate interests, agricultural practices, and government policies converge to influence what we eat and how it affects our health and the planet. By dissecting these elements, Ravenous not only identifies the root causes of our food crisis but also offers actionable solutions for individuals, communities, and policymakers alike.

Ultimately, Ravenous serves as a wake-up call, urging readers to advocate for a food revolution that prioritizes health, sustainability, and equity. With endorsements from prominent figures like Tim Spector and Tom Kerridge, this book is positioned as essential reading for anyone concerned about the future of food and its impact on society.

Vitally important -- Waterstones 'Best Books of 2023'
Shocking ... a highly readable account of what needs to be happen in order for us to both save the planet and fit into those old jeans again ... Dimbleby promises to show us how the crisis can be averted. [Ravenous] delivers on that promise * Guardian *
Compelling reading -- 'Books of the Year 2023' * Waitrose Weekend *
A call not only for a healthier food system, but for a more sustainable one * The Times *
Fascinating . . .comprehensive and concise . . . a clear, reasoned and meticulously footnoted argument for a coherent food policy * FT *
A rallying call for radical change * TLS *
Excellent -- Gavin Essler * Perspective *
[Ravenous] sets out how we can escape from the system we're trapped within which means that currently 60 per cent of adults in the UK are obese, with the number estimated to rise to 80 per cent by 2060. * i Paper *
Gripping ... the scope of [Ravenous] is huge - climate change, the health crisis our diet has created, environmental damage wrought by intensive agriculture, damage done to the land, to rivers and to biodiversity ... accessible, fascinating, grim but not entirely without hope -- India Knight * The Times *
Dimbleby is absolutely spitting feathers at the government's failure to confront the realities of our food system * Spectator *
Sobering ... forceful ... with his experience as a food-system insider, Dimbleby is able to take us behind the scenes and show us how the mechanisms stretching across the vast supply chains of the food system act together to make us eat what we eat -- Dan Saladino * Literary Review *
Food may well be one of the fundamental necessities of life, but our relationship with it is threatening not just our own lives but that of the planet. Fortunately, Henry Dimbleby knows how to get us back in shape * Men's Health *
If you think it's your fault you sometimes eat badly, think again. A powerful, engaging and urgent mandate for fixing our broken food system -- Thomasina Miers
A brilliant readable guide on how to reverse our food, obesity and climate crisis - a must-read -- Tim Spector
Ravenous is a revelation: a fast-paced, entertaining and often jaw-dropping guide to the modern food system, why it is putting us all in danger, and how we can escape its clutches -- Andi Oliver, Chef and Broadcaster
A brilliant, rigorous, masterful work, that opens our minds to some of the most important of all issues -- George Monbiot, author * Regenesis *
Food should be a source of joy, but the way we eat is leading us into disaster. This is a delicious, highly digestible guide to building a better food system, for the sake of our bodies and our planet. -- Prue Leith
We need a food revolution to ensure children don't go hungry, eat right, and reach their potential. Ravenous is a truly important book -- Tom Kerridge
An important read that will change the way we look at food - for the better! -- Jamie Oliver
A critical investigation into the global food industry * Farmer's Guardian *
Henry Dimbleby's latest book must be one of the most exhaustively researched works of all time - certainly when it comes to the food industry. * The Grocer *
The complex truth behind the global food system * Living North *
Henry Dimbleby calls for a rethink about how food is produced and consumed for the benefit of our health and the planet * Waitrose Weekend *
Emerging from Dimbleby's work on food supply chains during the pandemic, Ravenous explores the structures of the global food system and how environmental, health and nutritional concerns can harmoniously coexist -- 'The Books to Read in 2023' * Financial Times *
The author of the National Food Strategy and founder of Leon reveals the eye-opening truth about how our food systems shape the modern diet and the planet - and, crucially, what we can do about it -- 'The Best New Books in March' * i Paper *
Ravenous is a fast-paced, well-evidenced call for a healthier, more sustainable food system -- 'Anthony Albanese’s 2023 reading list: what should be on the PM’s bookshelf this summer?' * Guardian *
What we eat is damaging not only our personal health, but societal and environmental health too - a triple whammy. This book provides not only a compelling diagnosis of the damage being done by our current food eco-system, but a brilliant prescription of how a different food strategy could transform our personal, societal and environmental health. Economists like me often say that, in public policy, there is no such thing as a free lunch. Henry Dimbleby's book provides not only a free lunch for the nation, but a healthy one -- Andy Haldane, former chief economist of the Bank of England
Our food system lies in the centre of huge 21st century challenges, including global heating, mass extinction and public health. If we are to navigate these monster threats to civilisation then we need to move beyond our obsession with cheap food and illusory concepts of food security to embrace a genuinely sustainable food system. Shifting such a complex system isn't easy, but it is vital. Through the pages of Ravenous, Henry Dimbleby sets out with great clarity the why and how of the transition we must make -- Tony Juniper CBE, Chair of Natural England
Praise for Henry Dimbleby's National Food Strategy * : *
From field to fork, extraordinary work is being done to try and build a better food system for everyone ... [including] Henry Dimbleby's ambitions for safe, healthy and affordable food -- HRH King Charles III * Today *
This is a compelling and overdue plan of action. If the Government adopts it, we will, at last, be putting our food system on the right path to health and prosperity -- Prue Leith
Dimbleby has worked through an incredibly complex landscape and resulted in a set of comprehensive, eminently workable recommendations that are practical and will have a direct impact on our lives -- Tom Kerridge
There is a nutritional gap between rich and poor in this country, and it's a slowly unfolding tragedy. Dimbleby not only recognises this - he has a plan to do something about it -- Dame Louise Casey
Analytically tight, empirically thorough ... [Dimbleby's] recommendations are detailed, convincing, and would be entirely implementable if we cared about ourselves and the world around us -- Sir Partha Dasgupta, Frank Ramsey Professor Emeritus at the University of Cambridge and author * The Economics of Biodiversity *

  • Long-listed for André Simon Book Awards 2024 (UK)

ISBN: 9781800816527

Dimensions: 198mm x 128mm x 24mm

Weight: 269g

336 pages

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