Episode summary
Can humanity feed nearly 10 billion people without frying the planet? That question is at the heart of journalist Michael Grunwald’s provocative argument in “Sorry, This Is the Future of Food,” his recent New York Times essay and the basis of his forthcoming book, We Are Eating the Earth. He warns that we’re clearing an acre of rainforest every six seconds to grow more food — and even if we quit fossil fuels, we won’t avert climate chaos unless we fix how we use land. In this episode, Michael makes the case that high-yield industrial agriculture, for all its flaws, might be our best chance to grow more food on less land.
About the guest
Michael Grunwald
Michael Grunwald is an American journalist and author who covers public policy and national politics. A senior writer for Politico Magazine, he previously worked for The Boston Globe, The Washington Post and Time. He is author of the forthcoming book We Are Eating the Earth, available for pre-order now. His previous books include: The Swamp: The Everglades, Florida and the Politics of Paradise (2006) and The New New Deal: The Hidden Story of Change in the Obama Era (2012).
About the host
Jack Thompson
Jack Thompson is a food and climate journalist, based in West Africa. He writes for global media outlets such as the Financial Times, The Associated Press and The Sunday Times, and is the editor of TABLE's newsletter Fodder. You can read some of his work here.
References and recommended resources
New York Times Guest Essay: Sorry, but this is the future of Food. (Michael Grunwald, 2024)
Our World in Data: Half of the world’s habitable land is used for agriculture. (Hannah Ritchie and Max Roser, 2024
World Resources Institute: The Global Land Squeeze: Managing the Growing Competition for Land. (Tim Searchinger et al, 2023)
TABLE. What is efficiency? And is sustainable? (Tara Garnett Elin Röös and David Little, 2015)
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