Jacques Attali gives us a history of eating, from the taming of fire to prospects for the future.

Methods of food production, molecular gastronomy, feeding 9 billion people--this book collects historical, ideological, nutritional, social, religious, political, economic, cultural, and symbolic perspectives on these issues and many more. Major changes are affecting the quality and diversity of food and our ways of consuming it. Two contradictory developments are at work: eating chemically altered food on the go, alone, but also eating for pleasure or altruism, often meatless and organic dishes. Whichever trend wins out will greatly influence the world for future generations.