Introduction

Abstract

Without food there is no life: the baby dies, the teenager becomes emaciated, famine decimates the whole population. Too much food can also be a problem: the risk of coronary heart disease, obesity, and bulimia nervosa. When approaching the topic of food, there are many things to take into account apart from the plentifulness of its supply. The huge changes in the production and consumption of food, started in the twentieth century, look set to continue in the twenty-first. The geneticists are modifying their crops; the engineers are developing ever more sophisticated machines with which to harvest them. Retailers in the Western world continue to market their produce in sheds that challenge the size, if not the majesty, of our medieval cathedrals. In terms of storage, the freezer, the can and the vacuum pack push the limits beyond the dreams of our grandparents. Global infrastructures erode the significance of season, while competition from the supermarkets threatens to destroy the traditional ways of country life. In the UK, modern industrialised farming techniques bring with them controversy, as one crisis follows another: BSE, the foot-and-mouth epidemic.