How does our global food system actually work? And does it 'work' for everyone? Why are some of the world's biggest food producers also the countries with the most undernourished populations? Why do we waste so much food and how can we solve that? In this mythbusting book, acclaimed scientist Vaclav Smil challenges some of our biggest misconceptions about food, nutrition and farming. We start with the history of food production from around a million years ago to today and see that contrary to what some popular commentators would have you believe, farming was not a catastrophic misstep for humankind. We also look at nutrition and see that a 'healthy' diet is not as well-understood as you might think, otherwise why would each country have different recommended intakes of nutrients? Split into eight bite-sized chapters and guided by Smil's trademark pragmatic outlook, How Food Really Works will challenge everything you think you know about the food we eat.