June 7, 2021

Eat This Podcast: The original global food system

Hello

Chris Otter’s book Diet for a Large Planet shows how the British Empire, starting in the late 18th century, outsourced much of its food supply, paving the way for the modern food system.

By the 1880s, almost all the meat and wheat consumed in the United Kingdom was traveling vast distances to get there. Globalisation required mechanisation and turned food into an industrial commodity. The consequences of that original global outsourcing are still with us today, and still exceeding planetary boundaries. And the trade deals being struck in the aftermath of Brexit may well repeat that history.

Take a listen

All the best

Jeremy