Dedicated to the world's farmers, this book on food production and nutrition comprises 24 chapters involving 33 authors, 27 of whom are based in the USA. The chapters are mustered into six sections: Food and Agriculture in Human History (two chapters); Foods by Choice (two chapters); The Required Nutrients (four chapters): Foods and Health (six chapters); Food Production: Synergy of Science, Technology, and Human Ingenuity (seven chapters); Global Food Security (three chapters). All chapters have an abstract and a bibliography/references listing, and there is a useful 22-page index.
Some of the chapters are impressive in their coverage and analysis, namely the two opening chapters giving an historical perspective, the six chapters on foods and health, and the four chapters on bioenergy, soil, crop science and animal science. The remaining chapters were much weaker. The two chapters on foods by choice should have been merged because the article on the role of religion, spirituality and faith was especially disappointing and superficial.
The foreword by Alice Pell noted that the most notable contribution of the book is its single-volume breadth of coverage of issues facing the food system. Its multi-author approach means that it captures all the crucial issues but to variable standards, but worthy nonetheless. Similar to virtually all textbooks in the era of the internet, it lacks a plentiful supply of coloured illustrations and website references.
