A Greedy Man in a Hungry World: Why (almost) everything you thought you knew about food is wrong

(Paperback)

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Now with a new epilogue, the UKs most influential food and drink journalist shoots a few sacred cows of food culture.
The doctrine of local food is dead. Farmers markets are merely a lifestyle choice for the affluent middle classes. And organic has become little more than a marketing label that is way past its sell by date. That may be a little hard to swallow for the ethically-aware food shopper but it doesnt make it any less true. And now the UKs most outspoken and entertaining food writer is ready to explain why.

This engaging, witty and honest narrative is driven by the appetite of one large man: Jay Rayner someone who lives to eat, but also understands that there is a world beyond the high-end obsessions of the farmers market. Combining sharply-observed memoir growing up with the UKs most famous agony aunt who also happened to be a bloody good TV chef; witnessing the arrival of McDonalds and Dayvilles ice cream in Seventies London; working as a butchers boy with hard-nosed reportage, Jay Rayner will blow conventional foodie wisdom apart. For here is the reality: within a few decades we will have nine billion mouths to feed, and we wont be doing that by flogging free-range eggs from a stall in Borough market.

Jay explains why the doctrine of organic has been eclipsed by the need for sustainable intensification; and why the future lies in large-scale food production rather than the cottage industries that foodies often cheer for. From the the cornfields of Illinois to the killing lines of Yorkshire abattoirs, Rayner takes us on a journey that will change the way we shop, cook and eat forever. And give us a few belly laughs along the way.

Reviews

If you want to eat clever in the 21st Century read Jay Rayners joyful book. The rules of lunch just changed Caitlin Moran, author of How To Be a Woman

Muddled thinking and numpty moralising about food are major annoyances of the foodie age. Rayner skewers them deftly, as a man who knows his cutlery can Observer

Jay Rayner is always thinking about his next meal so in his new book he examines the economics of food to forecast how we will feed ourselves in the future and what exactly will, or possibly wont, be served on our dinner plates. Its part-memoir, part reportage and never preachy. He serves up much food for thought Daily Express

Challenging the organic movement, locavores, and the food miles, he serially slaughters the sacred cows of the liberal foodists. Easy to read uncomfortable to accept Financial Times

Rayners latest [challenges] the organic movement, locavores, food miles and seemingly every other sacred cow of the modern food world. Easy to read, even when uncomfortable to accept Financial Times

Funny and thought-provoking, Rayner a self-confessed glutton questions preconceptions about food issues. Supermarkets versus farmers markets, the GM debate, food miles, seasonality, food poverty and the madness of the Western diet are all examined with a refreshing honesty, and a desire to see both sides of the argument BBC Good Food

Author Bio

Since the publication of his most recent book in 2008, the award-winning journalist, broadcaster and writer Jay Rayner has gone from being one of the most respected figures in the food world, to a household name. His Friday night appearances on the BBCs One Show, where he is the resident food pundit, regularly draw audiences of up to five million people. In addition he has presented Food: what goes in your basket for Channel 4, is a regular in the critics slot on Masterchef and, in February 2011, became the host of BBC Radio 4s The Kitchen Cabinet, a new question-time format dedicated to everything we might ever eat. He remains the Observer newspapers restaurant critic and columnist, while writing for myriad publications both in the UK and abroad.