Food Wars ─ The global battle for mouths, minds and markets

In the ten years since publication of the first edition of Food Wars much has happened in the world of food policy. This new edition brings these developments fully up to date within the original analytical framework of competing paradigms or worldviews shaping the direction and decision-making within food politics and policy.

The key theme of the importance of integrating human and environmental health has become even more pressing. In the first edition the authors set out and brought together the different strands of emerging agendas and competing narratives. The second edition retains the same core structure and includes updated examples, case studies and the new issues that show how these conflicting tendencies have played out in practice over recent years and what this tells us about the way the global food system is heading. Examples of key issues given increased attention include:

• nutrition, including the global rise in obesity, as well as chronic conditions, hunger and under-nutrition
• the environment, particularly the challenges of climate change and food security
• land grabs, food industry concentration and market power
• volatile food prices and policy responses
• local food, democracy and citizenship.

Tim Lang is Professor of Food Policy at City University, London, UK. He has been a consultant to the World Health Organisation, including auditing the Global Top 25 Food Companies on food and health. He frequently advises the government and related initiatives and was appointed to the Mayor of London's Food Board in 2010. He is a frequent commentator for the BBC on food policy.

Michael Heasman is Senior Lecturer in Food Policy and Management, Department of Food Science and Agri-Food Supply Chain Management, Harper Adams University, Newport, UK. His previous positions include professorships at Aalborg University (Denmark) and the University of Alberta (Canada).