13% off
1
of
1
How to Feed the World
A Factful Guide
Brief Description
A myth-busting book about how the world produces and consumes its food and how to do so without killing the planet. In this ambitious, myth-busting book, leading scientist and internationally bestselling author Vaclav Smil investigates many of the burning questions facing the world today: Why are...
Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
Save 13% Off
Savings are calculated from our regular price of
$32.00
compared to the current price of
$28.00.
$2800
$4000
Elsewhere:
Unit price
/
Unavailable
On Sale
in
Clearout Sale
until
10 Nov or
while stocks last
OVERNIGHT NZ-WIDE DELIVERY
Found a better price? Request a price match
How to Feed the World
$2800
$4000
Elsewhere:
Unit price
/
Unavailable
Latest News
Magical Athlete - The Board Game for Non-Board Gamers!
Is the board game Magical Athlete the 'Board Game of the Year' for non-board gamers?
Books for the Person Who Dreams Big
I've always been a dreamer. I've always been drawn to people who take an idea,...
Liv Sisson visits Book Hero
We were so lucky to have geologist and author Liv Sisson visit us at Book...
Suzanne Paul visits Book Hero
We were so excited to have THE iconic Suzanne Paul visit Book Hero last week...
What Keeps Us Coming Back to Historical Fiction?
Have you ever finished a historical novel and immediately looked up the real events behind...
See more
Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and
still learning, it may not be perfect - your
feedback is welcome!
Description
A myth-busting book about how the world produces and consumes its food and how to do so without killing the planet.
In this ambitious, myth-busting book, leading scientist and internationally bestselling author Vaclav Smil investigates many of the burning questions facing the world today:
Why are some of the world's biggest food producers also the countries with the most undernourished populations? Why is food waste a colossal 1,000 kcal per person daily, and how can we solve that? Could we all go vegan and be healthy? Should we? How will we feed the ballooning population without killing the planet?
How Food Really Works shows how we misunderstand the essentials of where our food really comes from, how our dietary requirements shape us, and why this impacts our planet in drastic ways. Ultimately, this data-based, rigorously researched guide explains how we will survive and thrive long into the future.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9780241645406
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 07 November 2024
Country: United Kingdom
Imprint: Viking
Audience: General / adult, Tertiary education, Professional and scholarly
DIMENSIONS
Spine width: 40.0mm
Width: 153.0mm
Height: 234.0mm
Weight: 700g
Pages: 320
About the Author
If you want to understand food - its production, processing, distribution, consumption and waste - then what you are interested in is energy. Vaclav Smil is the world-leading expert on this topic. He is Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of Manitoba and is the author of over forty books, including Numbers Don't Lie, Size and the New York Times bestselling How the World Really Works. He is published in more than 30 languages and no other living scientist has had more books (on a wide variety of topics) reviewed in leading scientific journal Nature. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, in 2010 he was named by Foreign Policy as one of the Top 100 Global Thinkers.
Also by Vaclav Smil
View all-
How the World Really Works
Delightfully contrarian, this is the one book you need to read to understand our modern world. We have never had so much information at our fingertips and yet most of us don't know how the world really works. How the World Really Works explains seven of the most fundamental realities governing our survival and prosperity. From energy and food production,...Paperback$2700Elsewhere:$3000Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
20% off
Numbers Don't Lie
In Numbers Don't Lie, renowned scientist and polymath Vaclav Smil embarks on an enlightening journey to uncover the hidden truths behind everyday questions and global phenomena. From the perceived dangers of air travel to the collective weight of the world's cattle, Smil delves into the facts and figures that shape our understanding of reality. Through meticulous data analysis, he illuminates...Paperback$2400Usually:$3000Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
42% offGrowth
Immerse yourself in the comprehensive exploration of growth's omnipresent force in the world with Growth by Vaclav Smil. Esteemed by influential figures such as Bill Gates, Smil guides readers through a journey that encompasses the unspoken and explicit aims of growth that shape our very existence. Through an extensive and methodical inquiry, Growth investigates the phenomenon from its microscopic origins...Paperback$3200Usually:$5500Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Invention and Innovation
In Invention and Innovation by Vaclav Smil, readers are taken on a compelling journey through the annals of human ingenuity, exploring the ebbs and flows of discoveries and advancements that have shaped our world. Smil, a prolific author and renowned thinker, offers a meticulously researched narrative that is both thought-provoking and deeply insightful. The book dissects the lifecycle of inventions,...Hardback$5600Elsewhere:$6999Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
20% off
Size
A mind-expanding exploration of size, the measure of all things, from the New York Times bestselling author. The New York Times bestselling author returns with a mind-opening exploration of how size defines life on Earth. Explaining the key processes shaping size in nature, society, and technology, Smil busts myths around proportionsβ from bodies to paintings and the so-called golden ratioβtells...Paperback$2400Usually:$3000Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Energy and Civilization
A comprehensive account of how energy has shaped society throughout history, from pre-agricultural foraging societies through today's fossil fuel-driven civilization. "I wait for new Smil books the way some people wait for the next 'Star Wars' movie. In his latest book, Energy and Civilization: A History, he goes deep and broad to explain how innovations in humans' ability to turn...Paperback$4100Elsewhere:$4499Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
How to Feed the World
How to Feed the World is a myth-busting book about how the world produces and consumes its food, and how to do so without killing the planet. In this ambitious, myth-busting book, leading scientist and internationally bestselling author Vaclav Smil investigates many of the burning questions facing the world today. Why are some of the world's biggest food producers also...Paperback$3000Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Speed
Prepare to view the world through a new lens - Speed - a groundbreaking exploration that challenges your perceptions of life's driving force, from the internationally bestselling author. Explore how speed influences every aspect of life on Earth, from the slow grind of geological processes and the fleeting lifespans of organisms to the astonishing speed of light and the remarkable...Paperback$2999Elsewhere:$4500Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Energy
With his famous equation, E=mc2, Einstein showed us that all matter can be described as energy. It is everywhere; it is everything. In this engaging introduction, renowned author and scientist Vaclav Smil covers a wide range of topics, from the inner workings of the human body to the race for more efficient and eco-friendly fuels. Shedding light on the science...Paperback$3699Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Materials and Dematerialization
World-renowned scientist Vaclav Smil examines a critical topic in the research and policy domain of sustainable resource use. Over the course of time, the modern world has become dependent on unprecedented flows of materials. Now even the most efficient production processes and the highest practical rates of recycling may not be enough to result in dematerialization rates that would be...Paperback$6899Elsewhere:$7199Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 3-4 weeks -
Should We Eat Meat?
Meat eating is often a contentious subject, whether considering the technical, ethical, environmental, political, or health-related aspects of production and consumption. This book is a wide-ranging and interdisciplinary examination and critique of meat consumption by humans, throughout their evolution and around the world. Setting the scene with a chapter on meatβs role in human evolution and its growing influence during...Paperback$7399Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 3-4 weeks -
Speed
Prepare to view the world through a new lens - Speed - a groundbreaking exploration that challenges your perceptions of life's driving force, from the internationally bestselling author. 'There is no author whose books I look forward to more' Bill Gates 'There is perhaps no other academic who paints pictures with numbers like Smil' Guardian Discover how speed shapes life...Paperback$3200Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks
More from Science & Nature
View all-
What If? 10th Anniversary Edition
CELEBRATING TEN YEARS OF THE MILLION-SELLING POP SCIENCE CLASSIC WITH A SPECIAL EDITION. THIS IS WHAT IF? . . . x10. THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER 'Nerd royalty' β BEN GOLDACRE 'Totally brilliant' β TIM HARFORD 'Required reading across the world' β NEW YORK TIMES From the creator of the wildly popular xkcd.com, experience hilarious and informative answers to important questions...Hardback$4200Elsewhere:$5000Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Nuclear War
The Sunday Times bestselling non-fiction thriller that has to be read to be believed. Baillie Gifford shortlisted, a favourite of Steven Bartlett, with an average reader rating of 4.6, sure to be a mass-market hit. Up to now, no one outside of official circles has known exactly what would happen if a rogue state launched a nuclear missile at the...Paperback$2500Elsewhere:$2800Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
The Anxious Generation
A powerful argument for reclaiming childhoodβand all human relationshipsβfrom the online world, from the influential social psychologist and international bestselling author. Jonathan Haidt has spent his career speaking truth and wisdom in some of the most difficult spacesβcommunities polarised by politics and religion, campuses battling culture wars, and now the mental health emergency hitting teenagers today in many countries around...Paperback$2299Elsewhere:$3000Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Prisoners of Geography
Prisoners of Geography looks at the past, present, and future to offer crucial insights into one of the major factors that determine world history β because if you donβt know geography, youβll never have the full picture. Originally published in 2015, this completely revised and updated edition brings it up to date with the events and trends of the past...Paperback$2899Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Diddly Squat: Home to Roost
It's been another memorable year on Diddly Squat Farm - will the chickens finally come home to roost? Welcome back to Clarkson's Farm. The spring crop failed. Farming sheep, pigs, and cows was hardly more lucrative (better off breeding ostriches...) But in the face of uncooperative weather, bureaucracy, and the world's persistent refusal to recognise his genius, our hero's not...Paperback$2600Elsewhere:$3000Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Ultra-Processed People
Launching the runaway bestseller with ambitions to be the biggest non-fiction paperback of the year IT'S NOT YOU. IT'S THE FOOD. "If you only read one diet or nutrition book in your life, make it this one" - Bee Wilson "You've got to get this book in your life . . . Completely compelling . . . Read a page...Paperback$2500Elsewhere:$2800Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Pokemon Encyclopedia: Updated and Expanded 2024
The essential guide to all things PokΓ©mon, this yearβs Encyclopedia includes all of the details of Ash Ketchumβs battle to become PokΓ©mon World Champion! The new updated and expanded final edition of the PokΓ©mon Encyclopedia! Ash Ketchumβs journey to becoming a PokΓ©mon Master, and winner of the Masters Eight World Championships, has come to an end. Travel through all 8...Hardback$3799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Kitchen Confidential
The classic bestseller from the star of Parts Unknown and No Reservations: 25th Anniversary edition, with a new introduction by Irvine Welsh. BEFORE THERE WAS THE BEAR, THERE WAS BOURDAIN. βElizabeth David written by Quentin Tarantinoβ β A.A. Gill βFantastic: as lip-smackingly seductive as a bowl of fat chips and pungent aioliβ β Daily Telegraph After twenty-five years of sex,...Paperback$2500Elsewhere:$2799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
That's not my... Zoo
A perfect introduction to zoo animals with eye-catching illustrations, touchy-feely patches and a noisy finale! Discover the fun of the zoo in this sound-book addition to the bestselling That's not my... series. Turn the pages to explore the zoo and meet a monkey, an elephant, a tiger and a parrot in this larger format touchy-feely book. Press the sound button...Board book$2200Elsewhere:$2499Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Talk
A Harvard professor shows how we can become better talkers - and why effective conversation will help us all thrive. Conversation is at the heart of our relationships and decision-making, but the science behind our everyday interactions, and how to improve them, is little known. In Talk, Harvard Professor Alison Wood Brooks provides fascinating insights into the power of effective...Paperback$3000Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Clean & Green
Simple swaps and innovative ideas for cleaning and maintaining your home that won't cost the Earth. Learn how easy it is to make simple swaps in your cleaning and tidying methods for a more eco-friendly home. This beautifully illustrated black and white guide with 101 hints and sustainable, natural cleaning tips and hacks will help you take small steps that...Paperback$2999Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
18% offThe Genetic Book of the Dead
From one of the worldβs great science writers, a book that explores the deepest principles of evolutionary history. In this groundbreaking new approach to the evolution of all life, Richard Dawkins shows how the body, behaviour, and genes of every living creature can be read as a book β an archive of the worlds of its ancestors. A perfectly camouflaged...Hardback$4000Elsewhere:$5499Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow
Why buy from us?
Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!
Service & Delivery
Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 160,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.
Auckland Bookstore
We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.
Our Gifting Service
Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.
Science & Nature lists from the team
Explore our curated lists from our heroes to find your next read!
