In a world expected to reach a staggering population of 10 billion by 2050, and with global temperatures rising fast, humanity must fundamentally change the way it grows and consumes food. Uncertain Harvest brings together scientists, chefs, activists, entrepreneurs, farmers, philosophers, and engineers working on the global future of food to answer questions on how to make a more equitable, safe, sustainable, and plentiful food future.
Navigating cutting-edge research on the science, culture, and economics of food, Ian Mosby, Sarah Rotz, and Evan D. G. Fraser present a roadmap for a global food policy, while examining eight foods that could save us: algae, caribou, kale, millet, tuna, crickets, milk, and rice.
Ian Mosby is an award-winning historian of food and nutrition who was, alongside Evan Fraser, named one of the "53 Most Influential People in Canadian Food" by the Globe and Mail in 2016. His book Food Will Win the War: The Politics, Culture, and Science of Food on Canada's Home Front was shortlisted for the 2016 Canada Prize and won the Canadian Historical Association's 2015 Book Prize. He is an assistant professor of history at Ryerson University in Toronto.
Sarah Rotz is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Social Sciences at York University in Toronto. Her work focuses on political ecologies of land and food systems, settler-colonial patriarchy, and concepts of sovereignty and justice related to food, water, and energy.
Evan Fraser is the author of Empires of Food: Feast, Famine, and the Rise and Fall of Civilizations, which was shortlisted for the James Beard Food Literature Award, and the graphic novel #FoodCrisis. Currently he is the director of the Arrell Food Institute at the University of Guelph and holds the Canada Research Chair in Global Food Security.
"Engaging, insightful, clever, sobering, and hard-hitting!"
– Steffanie Scott, co-author of Organic Food and Farming in China
"Uncertain Harvest offers an unflinching look at some of the biggest challenges we face today. By bringing together scholars from the fields of food studies, geography, and history, the book offers insightful answers to the questions: How did we get here and what lessons can we learn from our past? And how might the most commonly-touted 'future of food' solutions play out, both globally and locally?"
– Ann Hui, author of Chop Suey Nation
"What happens when a historian, an activist, and a techno-optimist come together to envision our food future? A surprisingly balanced and compelling snapshot of what's possible: local problems get local solutions, and the ancient art of feeding ourselves benefits from a much-needed update. At last, hope we might actually be able to count on. "
– Dan Barber, author of The Third Plate: Field Notes on the Future of Food