Updated version of "Omnivore's Dilemma"?

April 21, 2023 4:48 PM

It's been 17 years since the book "Omnivore's Dilemma" has been published. What is the more recently published modern version of the book? Non-fiction, up-to-date with the latest on the food industry + agricultural science + organic/permaculture/small-farm/urban farming + cultural consumption trends/ethics.

Looking for a nonfiction book about the current state of the food system in America. Appreciate a more "neutral" viewpoint where possible. I'd love to know what the latest thinking is in this field.

I have a hankering to read "Omnivore's Dilemma" but really would prefer a more modern version/spiritual successor that's more up to speed with current events, so published in say the last 5 years? This is a broad category. I'm looking for something good to read in this space!

posted by ellerhodes to Food & Drink (5 answers total)

Best answer: I don't know whether this is because I have a certain hammer, so everything looks like a nail, or whether there has been a broader cultural shift away from "neutrality" when talking about American food systems. Maybe IDK. This list starts with academic books and ends with trade ones that all remind me of / complement / are nice correctives to the Omnivore's Dilemma in different ways.

You might like:
Julie Guthman, Agrarian Dreams
Brad Weiss, Real Pigs
David Cleveland, Balancing on a Planet
Margaret Gray, Labor and the Locavore
Bartow Elmore, Seed Money
Dan Saladino, Eating to Extinction
Simran Sethi, Bread, Wine, Chocolate

Excited to see what others say!
posted by athirstforsalt at 6:45 PM on April 21, 2023 [5 favorites]

Best answer: Mark Bittman is approximately the same vintage as Michael Pollan so might not bring anything new, but for a while was writing on the broader topics around food production, consumption, etc. He has a substack now, too, which could provide some leads.
posted by lulu68 at 9:49 PM on April 21, 2023 [1 favorite]

Best answer: There's a brand new book out that might be of interest: Ravenous: How to Get Ourselves and Our Planet Into Shape by Henry Dimbleby. Henry is the cofounder of Leon, a "good" UK fast food chain.

"The scope of [Ravenous] is huge - climate change, the health crisis our diet has created, environmental damage wrought by intensive agriculture, damage done to the land, to rivers and to biodiversity ... accessible, fascinating, grim but not entirely without hope." -- India Knight
posted by socky_puppy at 11:15 PM on April 21, 2023

Best answer: Sarah Taber is working on a book along these lines, so you might want to keep apprised to get an update when she publishes it.
posted by brainwane at 5:36 AM on April 22, 2023 [3 favorites]

Sarah Taber on Twitter. She is a fountain of information.
posted by neuron at 11:51 AM on April 23, 2023