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The End of Plenty: The Race to Feed a Crowded World
Jr. Joel K. Bourne
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Description for The End of Plenty: The Race to Feed a Crowded World
Paperback. When Malthus famously outlined the brutal relationship between food and population, he never imagined the success of modern agriculture. This book is suitable for anyone concerned with what the coming decades hold for our planet and our diet if we don't take action now. Num Pages: 416 pages. BIC Classification: JFCV; RNFF. Category: (P) Professional & Vocational; (U) Tertiary Education (US: College). Dimension: 156 x 233 x 32. Weight in Grams: 514.
An award-winning environmental journalist introduces a new generation of farmers and scientists on the frontlines of the next green revolution.When Malthus famously outlined the brutal relationship between food and population, he never imagined the success of modern agriculture. New seeds, chemicals and irrigation, coupled with free trade, drove the greatest global population boom in history — but left ecological devastation and an unsustainable agro-economic status quo in their wake. Now, with a greater number of mouths to feed than ever before, tightening global food supplies have spurred riots and reform around the world.
Joel K. Bourne Jr. takes ... Read morereaders from his family farm to international agricultural hotspots, searching for new solutions that can sustainably feed us all. He visits young corporate farmers trying to restore Ukraine as Europe’s breadbasket, a Canadian aquaculturist channelling ancient Chinese traditions, the agronomist behind the world’s largest organic sugar-cane plantation, and many other people and groups, large and small, who are racing to stave off a Malthusian catastrophe. Part history, part reportage, part advocacy, The End of Plenty is a wake-up call for anyone concerned with what the coming decades will hold for our planet and its inhabitants if we don’t take action.
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Product Details
Publisher
Scribe Publications
Place of Publication
, Australia
Shipping Time
Usually ships in 4 to 8 working days
About Jr. Joel K. Bourne
Joel K. Bourne Jr. is currently a Contributing Writer at _National Geographic_, where he has worked since 2000, first as a Senior Writer and then as Senior Editor for the Environment. He has a Bachelor’s degree in Agronomy from North Carolina State University, and a Master’s in Journalism from Columbia University.
Reviews for The End of Plenty: The Race to Feed a Crowded World
'Much of this book is sad and scary – it's going to be hard to feed a world that we're relentlessly heating. But reading about the amazing advances being made by developing-world farmers with 'organic' agriculture left me with a vision of the planet we could still create.'
Bill McKibben 'Joel K. Bourne Jr. has written one of the ... Read moremost informative, engaging books on the world food prospect I have ever read.'
Lester R. Brown ‘The End of Plenty takes a thoroughly researched and exceptionally thoughtful and balanced look at the consequences of industrial farming. Joel Bourne’s courageous conclusion: to feed the world’s burgeoning population, agriculture must change and population increase must stop. His book should convince every reader of the compelling need to address world food problems through more skillful and sustainable agronomy, but also through education, especially of women, and universal family planning.’
Marion Nestle, professor of nutrition, food studies, and public health, New York University, and author of Food Politics ‘Fifty years ago, as many as one out of every three people lived in hunger. Today, the figure is about one in eight — the biggest, fastest increase in human well-being in history. Now, though, agricultural scientists and economists increasingly fear that this great accomplishment is at risk. Simply put, the world's agricultural systems may not be able to provide enough food for the nine or ten billion people who will be alive in 2050. Joel Bourne, a farmer's son himself, traveled the world to explore what may be the greatest challenge facing the next generation. The result is calm, lucid — and fascinating.’
Charles C. Mann ‘The End of Plenty is an urgent and at times terrifying dispatch from a distinguished reporter who has given heart and soul to his subject. Here is a wake-up call, and also a call to action. The stakes could not be higher: To stave off apocalypse, we must grow a whole lot smarter in a hurry — starting by heeding the cutting-edge wisdom contained in Joel Bourne's richly researched and passionately argued report from the Malthusian margins.’
Hampton Sides 'Despite the lessons of climate change, water shortages and industrial-scale farming of single crops, "we are [still] literally farming ourselves out of food"… Bourne's compelling book presents challenges that are immense but not insurmountable … we must also accept a shift in mentality — from a world of plenty to a world of enough.'
The Saturday Paper
'An agronomist-turned-journalist, Bourne is a lively guide to the history, science and economics of getting tucker on our plates. He digs into the causes of our current predicament, tours the world looking for the germ of the next revolution and suggests ways we can limit population growth. A compelling call for action. Food for thought.'
Nicholas Butler
Weekend Press, Christchurch
‘Brings a deep and passionate understanding of agriculture … while finding hope in incipient signs of a sustainable farming revolution.’
Fiona Capp
The Age
'A finely balanced book, serious without being depressing, meticulously researched without sacrificing accessibility. It is full of stories as well as facts ... If Bourne is right that feeding the world in the 21st century is "the biggest collective hurdle humanity has ever faced", then we owe it to ourselves to get informed.'
Make Wealth History
‘An engaging look at the challenges we are likely to face producing sufficient food in an ages of unprecedented global population, environmental impact and climate change.’
Martin Ford
FT ‘Best Books of 2015’
‘Drawing on his familiarity with farming and his career in journalism, he looks at troubling trends of imbalance between food consumption and production that could lead to more widespread hunger. Bourne points to riots and social unrest in … nations facing severe food shortages as a result of global changes in trade policy and food production … Bourne vividly ties history, economics, chemistry, and ecology to this call to action to change the way we look at food production and population.’
Vanessa Bush
Booklist
‘Bourne thoughtfully lays out a vision of how short-term thinking got us to the current crisis point, and how a longer-term, ecological view, supported by creative science and more careful policy, might still be able to save us.’
Publisher's Weekly
‘The reasons for faltering agricultural systems are multiple and complex, and Bourne, raised a farm boy and trained in agronomy, does a fine job of sorting its many facets and shaping them into an uncommonly readable text. He travels the world-India, China, Eastern Europe, Africa, Brazil, and back here in North America-to report the problems and possible solutions to the looming food crisis … A hugely important issue receives lucid, compelling treatment in this valuable work.’
Robert Eagan
Library Journal
‘Bourne has written a comprehensive, compelling and thought-provoking narrative about an unparalleled world food crisis at the intersection of population, production, hunger, health and social justice … The extensive endnotes, bibliography and detailed index speak to thorough and thoughtful scholarship and responsible journalism … The End of Plenty offers an invaluable projection of alternative scenarios for the future of food and, indeed, of humankind and is a wake-up call for us all.’
Marilyn Gates, PhD, NY Journal of Books ‘Hard facts, solid research, multiple viewpoints, and well-told stories combine to give high impact to this compelling look at the challenge of feeding the world’s burgeoning population without destroying the planet … [T]his call to arms is lucid, informative, and even entertaining, fully deserving a wide readership.’ STARRED REVIEW
Kirkus Reviews
‘Bourne draws on his background in agronomy and years covering science and rural issues for National Geographic to look at how agriculture has changed over the last seventy-five years. He explores past events, such as food crises and the Green Revolution, as well as current food demands and agricultural practices … In this important and timely book, Bourne provides not just a history lesson or an agriculture report, but a call to action for those concerned about food shortages, and he provides examples of how some have already started that fight.’
Jenny Katharine Oleen
Choice
‘[A] fascinating narrative … Bourne brings a piercing eye to intransigent problems in food production and alleviation of hunger, leavened by notes of pragmatism and optimism.’
Jean L. Steiner
Science
‘Humanity's most important activity is getting food, and billions of people already are lacking sufficient calories or micronutrients to lead satisfactory lives. The prospect of having to feed billions more by midcentury is daunting, and yet the scale of the crisis is barely recognised by most people. The End of Plenty should provide an important antidote for that — both covering the overall situation and giving interesting vignettes of problems and potential solutions. It's an important read for everyone.’
Paul R. Ehrlich, co-author of The Dominant Animal ‘In a well-documented and fast-moving manner, Joel Bourne Jr … clearly depicts a strategic challenge for America’s national security in the coming years … Joel has shown, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the time for action is NOW — and the consequences for failing to heed his advice may be devastating!’
Henry H. Shelton, retired US army general, 14th Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Show Less
