Food Routes

More about the book

Media attention to food often highlights charismatic chefs, farmer's markets, food deserts, GMO debates, and diet fads. However, the journey of food from producer to consumer is less understood. This book explores how food—whether industrial, local, nutritious, or unhealthy—reaches our plates, shedding light on the evolving food distribution landscape. As stories about the food supply chain emerge, they reveal the complexities that consumers, policymakers, and the food industry must grasp to harness innovation. Farmers are transforming into engineers, and farms are evolving into vertical structures or laboratories. Food may soon come from printers, lab dishes, or personalized home farms. The future food system promises transparency and speed, connecting urban centers through a network of roads, storage facilities, waterways, ports, highways, and airfreight hubs. This narrative also encourages us to rethink global food supply methods. It raises the question of whether the world already produces enough food for its population and if the real challenge lies in distribution. Furthermore, it suggests that food could become data, revolutionizing our food system and creating a faster, fresher supply chain to nourish growing urban populations.