Here are some
comments on two newer books which independently use “bleak” to describe a
possible future.
THE FATE OF FOOD by Amanda Little, a professor of journalism
and science writing at Vanderbilt University, is subtitled “What We’ll Eat in a
Bigger, Hotter, Smarter World.” In over a dozen chapters, she explores some
really interesting – and disruptive – ideas like Impossible Meat product
development and research into why humans crave meat. The CEO of Impossible
Meats says, “our mission is to completely replace animals in the food system by
2035, which we will certainly do.” Sound
far-fetched? Maybe, but starting next week the Impossible Burger will be available at every Burger King.
Amanda Little’s research about our changing food supply led her to conduct interviews
in a dozen countries and around the United States and she includes black and
white photographs in this text. That helps envision some of these technologies
and how wide-spread they could become. Little
deftly explains changes in agriculture, threats to the water supply, and evolving
production processes like vertical farming. For a quick
overview, listen to Terry Gross’ interview with her on NPR’s Fresh Air. Notes and an index comprise about fifteen percent
of THE FATE OF FOOD which received
a starred review from Kirkus.
FALTER by Bill McKibben is a new non-fiction work by the activist author of
the more fanciful Radio Free Vermont. Thirty years after publishing The End of Nature
about global warming, McKibben combines his long-standing concern about Earth’s
environment with apprehension about the increasing influence of technology (especially
artificial intelligence and genetic engineering) in our lives. In FALTER he argues that “we’re
simply so big, and moving so fast, that every decision carries enormous risk.” In
the first section, Size of the Board, McKibben looks at ways that “privilege lies
in obliviousness,” how we have distanced ourselves from nature, and how we already
have losses due to a changing climate (e.g., “winter doesn’t reliably mean
winter anymore, and so the way we’ve always viscerally told time has begun to
break down.”) In a section titled Leverage, he looks at shifts in ideology involving
profit-seeking and race-baiting, the short-term outlook and lack of human solidarity.
His philosophical comments are interspersed with data and statistics (e.g., on
establishing solar panels) and, thus, FALTER
is a rather involved call to action. McKibben argues that “we have the tools
(nonviolence chief among them) to allow us to stand up to the powerful and the
reckless.” He has “walked the talk” by founding the environmental organization
350.org and offers in his latest work an updated, but at times, meandering
treatise which is both alarming and hopeful. Approximately ten percent of FALTER is devoted to notes and
an index. FALTER received starred
reviews from Booklist and Publishers Weekly and appears in The
Washington Post list of “40 new books that tell America’s Story.” 
