MixedThe Telegraph (UK)How to Feed the World, has impressive data and range, but it suffers from a dearth of firm ideas ... The book trots briskly through some hefty subjects ... The middle chapter – “What’s more important, food or smartphones?” – is the best, arguing to change how we value farming’s contributions to the global economy ... While purporting to be historically informed, Smil’s history is mainly prehistoric, rarely considering pertinent later shifts in consumption ... All in all, How to Feed the World is a useful book. Smil’s whistle-stop tour of food production history largely works ... But How to Feed the World is also selective and rushed. Most of all, it seems to stop just as it gets to the point.
