The Real Cost of Cheap Food

This thought-provoking, accessible book critically examines the dominant food regime on its own terms, by seriously asking whether we can afford cheap food and by exploring what exactly cheap food affords us.

The author shows why today's global food system produces just the opposite of what it promises. The food produced under this regime is in fact exceedingly expensive. Many of these costs will be paid for in other ways or by future generations and cheap food today may mean expensive food tomorrow. By systematically assessing these costs the book delves into issues related, but not limited to, the food system, the environment, sustainable development, health, and social justice. In this new edition the author brings all data and citations fully up to date. Increased coverage is given to many topics including climate change, vertical agriculture, global pandemics, geopolitical instability, agriculture 4.0, alternative proteins, and food justice. Detailing the numerous ways that our understanding of food has narrowed, such as its price per ounce, combination of nutrients, yield per acre, or calories, the book argues for a more contextual view of food when debating its affordability. Expanding an innovation introduced in the second edition, concrete case studies of collective mobilization can be found throughout all chapters to support a narrative that balances being critical with being hopeful.

This book is essential reading for those interested in critical food studies, food and agriculture, and a sustainable and socially just food system.

Michael Carolan is a Professor in the Department of Sociology and Co-Director of the Food Systems Institute at Colorado State University, USA. He is the author of several books including The Sociology of Food and Agriculture, 3rd edition (Routledge, 2021), A Decent Meal: Building Empathy in a Divided America (2021), and Society and the Environment: Pragmatic Solutions to Ecological Issues, 4th edition (Routledge, 2024).