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A Greedy Man in a Hungry World

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What to expect

The UK’s 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 doesn’t make it any less true. And now the UK’s 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 UK’s most famous agony aunt who also happened to be a bloody good TV chef; witnessing the arrival of McDonald’s and Dayville’s ice cream in Seventies London; working as a butcher’s 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 won’t be doing that by flogging free-range chickens 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.

Critics Review

  • ‘If you want to eat clever in the 21st Century read Jay Rayner’s 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 won’t, be served on our dinner plates. It’s 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

    ‘Rayner’s 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

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