Feeding Britain

The British were once famous worldwide for being uninterested in food and our food being brown. This is no longer the case. UK food has changed remarkably in the last half century. Our food has Europeanized (pizza is children’s favourite food) and internationalized (we eat the world’s cuisines), yet the food culture is fragmented, a mix of mass ‘ultra-processed’ foods (high in salt, sugar, and fat) alongside food as varied and good as anywhere else on the planet. This is partly the effect of Europeanization, but mainly because the UK has got wealthier, allowing aspirations and tastes to flower. This book takes stock of the UK food system: where it comes from, what we eat, its impact, its fragilities and strengths.