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The Ecology of Food
Sustainable Food Systems and Diets
Nicolas Bricas (Anthology Editor) , Damien Conaré (Anthology Editor) , Marie Walser (Anthology Editor)
- Open Access
The Ecology of Food
Sustainable Food Systems and Diets
Nicolas Bricas (Anthology Editor) , Damien Conaré (Anthology Editor) , Marie Walser (Anthology Editor)
- Open Access
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Description
Written to mark the tenth anniversary of the UNESCO Chair in World Food Systems, this multidisciplinary collection of short, digestible expert essays offers a uniquely rounded introduction to the key contemporary issues around sustainable nutrition.
The book consists of a clear, five-part structure in which economists, historians, sociologists, physical biologists, and others present a series of reflections on what food is, how it functions in our socieities, how we understand it, and how this has changed over time. Along the way, we discover how current global policies and agro-practices feed into all of this, and we find that reconsidering our nutrition amounts to reconsidering our societies. All authors are leaders in their fields, and all hail from the research organizations that co-lead the UNESCO Chair, including CIRAD, INRAE, Institut Agro, IRD and Ciheam-IAMM, making this an ideal introductory resource for postgraduates, practitioners, and others interested in food studies and global food systems.
The ebook editions of this book are available open access under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 licence on bloomsburycollections.com.
Table of Contents
Introduction: Food and All Its Dimensions
Part 1. Food as Relationship
Chapter 1. Food as a Link with Ourselves
Chapter 2. Food as a Link with Others
Chapter 3. Food as a Link with the Biosphere
Part 2. Dynamics of Contemporary Food Systems
Chapter 4. The Origins of Industrial Farming
Chapter 5. The Industrialization of the Food Supply
Chapter 6. Changing Food Habits
Chapter 7. The Limits of Industrialized Food Systems
Part 3. Food and Ecology
Chapter 8. Why an Ecological Approach to Food?
Chapter 9. Decompartmentalizing Knowledge on Food
Chapter 10. A Commitment to Food System Transformation
Part 4. Discussing the Watchwords of Sustainable Food Systems
Chapter 11. Should Food Production be Doubled to Feed the World?
Chapter 12. Fortified Foods to Fight Malnutrition?
Chapter 13. Would You Like Some More Protein?
Chapter 14. The Fight against Food Waste
Chapter 15. Food Aid to Fight Food Precarity?
Chapter 16. Should We Return to Cooking and “Homemade” Food?
Chapter 17. Taking a Step Back from Local Production
Chapter 18. Active Consumers as Drivers of Change?
Part 5. An Ecology of Food to Transform Food Systems
Chapter 19. Citizen Initiatives and How to Scale Them
Chapter 20. Towards New Company Models?
Chapter 21. The Roles of Training and Research
Chapter 22. Food in Politics
Conclusion: Food is an Encounter with the World … The Entire World
Bibliography
Index
Product details
| Published | 06 Aug 2026 |
|---|---|
| Format | Paperback |
| Edition | 1st |
| Extent | 320 |
| ISBN | 9781350544956 |
| Imprint | Bloomsbury Academic |
| Dimensions | 234 x 156 mm |
| Publisher | Bloomsbury Publishing |
About the contributors
Reviews
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The Ecology of Food presents food as a 'total social fact', as 'an encounter with the world… the entire world'. It situates food at the intersection of a range of social, cultural, economic, political and environmental potential inflection points, and as such seeks to install in readers a well informed enthusiasm for food systems transformation. This is a hopeful text in a time of many challenges.
Jane Battersby, University of Cape Town, South Africa
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The Ecology of Food takes a comprehensive look at the manifold ways in which food shapes our lives and society and offers a usefully interdisciplinary yet integrated approach to creating more sustainable, equitable and nourishing food systems.
Carolyn Steel, author of Sitopia: How Food Can Save the World
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From the outset The Ecology of Food: Sustainable Food Systems and Diets immerses us in fundamental, intertwined questions about our food systems and how explicit action can catalyze their potential towards much needed transformation. This collection gives the reader a primer on the dynamics of our currently dysfunctional food system and a deep dive into how relationships, ecologies and food citizenship can move the needle in a truly sustainable direction. As a reflection on the pathbreaking contributions of the UNESCO Chair in Global Food Systems, the The Ecology of Food provides a cogent review of the many significant contributions enabled by the Chair as well as a roadmap for future action. This book is as relevant for food systems practitioners, students and scholars as it is for citizens who want to engage and change the world through food.
Alison Blay-Palmer, UNESCO Chair on Food, Biodiversity and Sustainability Studies

























