About the author
Vaclav Smil is a Czech-Canadian scientist and professor emeritus at the University of Manitoba. His interdisciplinary books use quantitative comparisons to examine energy, food, materials, population, technology, and environmental change.
His work is known for material accounting and skepticism toward both effortless progress and simple catastrophe. How to Feed the World applies that approach to crops, livestock, nutrients, water, supply chains, diets, and waste.
Where to start
Start with How to Feed the World for Smil’s compact food-system overview, or How the World Really Works for a broader introduction to energy and material foundations.
