But supermarkets are a single link in the global food chain, which on the whole, argues Patel, is living on borrowed time, if only because of its dependence on fossil fuels. There’s also the ecological footprint: the world’s livestock industry, says Patel, produces 18% of all CO2-equivalent emissions and contributes more to climate change than cars. And there’s the drain on water reserves: the rampant Brazilian soya industry is destroying the South American Guarani aquifer, the world’s largest underground water source. Patel describes the food system as a “machine gun”. So far, he says, we’ve managed to dodge a few of the bullets like mad cow disease and bird flu, but others are coming.
“The correct response is anger,” says Patel when I ask how individuals should respond to a system which produces obscene inequities and treats consumers like automatons. “A collection of discontent and anger is often what changes the world for the better,” he adds.
Stuffed and Starved by Raj Patel