Includes bibliographical references and index

The food-brain feedback loop -- Soil and civilization -- Agriculture goes global -- Creating famine -- The American way of farming -- The farm as factory -- Dust and depression -- Food and the brand -- Vitamania and "the farm problem" -- Soy, chicken, and cholesterol -- Force-feeding junk -- The so-called green revolution -- The resistance -- Where we're at -- The way forward -- Conclusion: We are all eaters

"From hunting and gathering to GMOs and ultraprocessed foods, this expansive tour of human history rewrites the story of our species--and points the way to a better future"--

How humankind first hunted and gathered explains our emergence as a new species and our earliest technology. Our first food systems, from fire to agriculture, tell where we settled and how civilizations expanded. The quest for food for growing populations drove exploration, colonialism, slavery, even capitalism. A century ago, food was industrialized. Since then, new styles of agriculture and food production have written a new chapter of human history, one that is driving both climate change and global health crises. Bittman offers a panoramic view of the story and explains how we can rescue ourselves from the modern wrong turn. -- adapted from jacket