A history of the unsustainable modern diet—heavy in meat, wheat, and sugar—that requires more land and resources than the planet is able to support. We are facing a world food crisis of unparalleled proportions. Our reliance on unsustainable dietary choices and agricultural systems is causing problems both for human health and the health of our planet. Solutions from lab-grown food to vegan diets to strictly local food consumption are often discussed, but a central question remains: how did we get to this point? In Diet for a Large Planet, Chris Otter goes back to the late eighteenth century in Britain, where the diet heavy in meat, wheat, and sugar was developing. As Britain underwent steady growth, urbanization, industrialization, and economic expansion, the nation altered its food choices, shifting away from locally produced plant-based nutrition. This new diet, rich in animal proteins and refined carbohydrates, made people taller and stronger, but it led to new types of health problems. Its production also relied on far greater acreage than Britain itself, forcing the nation to become more dependent on global resources. Otter shows how this issue expands beyond Britain, looking at the global effects of large agro-food systems that require more resources than our planet can sustain. This comprehensive history helps us understand how the British played a significant role in making red meat, white bread, and sugar the diet of choice—linked to wealth, luxury, and power—and shows how dietary choices connect to the pressing issues of climate change and food supply.

The book that started a revolution in the way Americans eat The extraordinary book that taught America the social and personal significance of a new way of eating is still a complete guide for eating well in the twenty-first century. Sharing her personal evolution and how this groundbreaking book changed her own life, world-renowned food expert Frances Moore Lappé offers an all-new, even more fascinating philosophy on changing yourself—and the world—by changing the way you eat. The Diet for a Small Planet features: • simple rules for a healthy diet • streamlined, easy-to-use format • food combinations that make delicious, protein-rich meals without meat • indispensable kitchen hints—a comprehensive reference guide for planning and preparing meals and snacks • hundreds of wonderful recipes

Forty years after her mother's work changed the way we eat, Anna Lappé's Diet for a Hot Planet changed the way we think about food production and global warming. Fifty years ago, Frances Moore Lappé's Diet for a Small Planet sparked a revolution in thinking about the social and environmental impact of what we eat. Ten years ago, her daughter, Anna Lappé, controversially picked up the conversation with Diet for a Hot Planet, examining another hidden cost of our food choices: the climate crisis. Lappé predicted that food system-related greenhouse gas emissions would be catastrophic unless we radically shifted the trends of what we ate and how we produced it. She exposed the political interests with a stake in our food system, and foresaw the spin food companies would use to avoid system-wide reform. She visited the pioneering farmers of a future food system where good could outweigh harm, demonstrating the potential of sustainable farming. She also offered six eternal principles for a climate friendly diet. This measured and intelligent call to action is the perfect companion to the fiftieth anniversary edition of Diet for a Small Planet; like her mother before her, Lappé reminds us that food, and our perilously large food system, is still a powerful access point for solutions to the climate crisis.

The bestselling author and internationally celebrated physician and expert on nutrition offers an appealing, approachable health solution—eat the foods you love to lose weight and get healthy. For years, we’ve been told that a healthy diet is heavy on meat, poultry, and fish, and avoids carbohydrates, particularly foods high in starch—empty calories harmful to our bodies. But what if everything we’ve heard was backwards? High in calories and cholesterol, animal fats and proteins too often leave you hungry and lead to overeating and weight gain. They are often the root causes of a host of avoidable health problems—from indigestion, ulcers, and constipation to obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. On the other hand, complex carbohydrates like whole grains, legumes, tubers, and other starches provide your body with essential proteins and nutrients that satisfy the appetite while simultaneously fighting illness. But Americans eat far too few calories from carbohydrates—only about forty percent, according to Dr. John McDougall, internationally renowned expert on nutrition and health, featured on the documentary Forks Over Knives. The Healthiest Diet on the Planet helps us reclaim our health by enjoying nutritious starches, vegetables, and fruits. McDougall takes on the propaganda machines pushing dangerous, high-fat fad diets and cuts through the smoke and mirrors of the diet industry. He offers a clear, proven guide to what we should and shouldn’t eat to prevent disease, slow the aging process, improve our physical fitness, be kind to the environment, and be our most attractive selves. Featuring two dozen color photos and mouth-watering, easy-to-follow recipes for buckwheat pancakes, breakfast tortillas, baked potato skins, rainbow risotto, red lentil soup, green enchiladas, dairy-free lasagna and pizza, and more, The Healthiest Diet on the Planet will help you look great, feel better, and forever change the way you think about health and nutrition.

Nourished Planet illustrates what our global food system can be - a collection of the smartest ideas to nourish us all. From urban farmers in Kenya to American doctors to government officials in Egypt, its voices demonstrate how diverse perspectives are coming together to feed the world sustainably.--back cover.

One of the many benefits of the U.S. food system is a safe, nutritious, and consistent food supply. However, the same system also places significant strain on land, water, air, and other natural resources. A better understanding of the food-environment synergies and trade-offs associated with the U.S. food system would help to reduce this strain. Many experts would like to use that knowledge to develop dietary recommendations on the basis of environmental as well as nutritional considerations. But identifying and quantifying those synergies and trade-offs, let alone acting on them, is a challenge in and of itself. The difficulty stems in part from the reality that experts in the fields of nutrition, agricultural science, and natural resource use often do not regularly collaborate with each other, with the exception of some international efforts. "Sustainable Diets" is the summary of a workshop convened by The Institute of Medicine's Food Forum and Roundtable on Environmental Health Sciences, Research, and Medicine in May 2013 to engender dialogue between experts in nutrition and experts in agriculture and natural resource sustainability and to explore current and emerging knowledge on the food and nutrition policy implications of the increasing environmental constraints on the food system. Experts explored the relationship between human health and the environment, including the identification and quantification of the synergies and trade-offs of their impact. This report explores the role of the food price environment and how environmental sustainability can be incorporated into dietary guidance and considers research priorities, policy implications, and drivers of consumer behaviors that will enable sustainable food choices.

Incorporating systems theory, teachings from mythology and religions, and the human sciences, The World Peace Diet presents the outlines of a more empowering understanding of our world, based on a comprehension of the far-reaching implications of our food choices and the worldview those choices reflect and mandate. The author offers a set of universal principles for all people of conscience, from any religious tradition, that they can follow to reconnect with what we are eating, what was required to get it on our plate, and what happens after it leaves our plates.