Feeding Frenzy - by Paul McMahon (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Feeding Frenzy traces the history of the global food system and reveals the underlying causes of recent turmoil in food markets. Supplies are running short, prices keep spiking, and the media is full of talk of a world food crisis. The turmoil has unleashed some dangerous forces. Food-producing countries are banning exports even if this means starving their neighbors. Governments and corporations are scrambling to secure control of food supply chains. Powerful groups from the Middle East and Asia are acquiring farmland in poor countries to grow food for export -- what some call land grabs. This raises some big questions. Can we continue to feed a burgeoning population? Are we running out of land and water? Can we rely on free markets to provide? This book reveals trends that could lead to more hunger and conflict. But Paul McMahon also outlines actions that can be taken to shape a sustainable and just food system.

Review Quotes

"McMahon... has written an illuminating history that culminates in the current scramble to secure control of farmland... Yet McMahon's answer to what he calls the 'nine billion person question' tips towards the optimistic." --Financial Times

"Paul McMahon's [Feeding Frenzy] is a straight food apocalypse book, no jokes, one recipe: a four-ingredient plan to feed the planet." --Guardian

"Passionately argued... presents a compelling argument for radical agricultural reforms... Above all, [McMahon] is optimistic about the future, putting faith in our ability to overcome obstacles." --Sunday Times

"Revealing... offers refreshingly ordinary answers." --Observer

About the Author

Born in Ireland, Paul McMahon holds a Ph.D from Cambridge University and has authored reports on sustainable food systems as an advisor to The Prince of Whales's International Sustainability Unit and to the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization. He cofounded and now helps run SLM Partners, a business that invests in sustainable agriculture in Australia and across the world. He lives in London.