Food is one of the most universal and essential parts of human life.

From gourmet steaks to the everyday humble packet of crisps, food consumption is everywhere.

But what do we actually know about how our food is grown, how it is processed,

and how does it end up on our supermarket shelves or in our restaurants and takeaways?

While we may look back and think traditional food customs are more often in harmony with the natural environment,

most of us today rely on a complex global food web of production, distribution, consumption and disposal.

But how does it work? What can philosophy say about food?

Joining our discussion on food philosophy today is philosopher Julian Beguini.

Beguini is an expert in popular philosophy, with Sunday Times best-selling books such as

How the World Thinks, How to Think Like a Philosopher,

and the Pig that wants to be eaten. He has served as the academic director of the Royal Institute

of Philosophy and is a member of the Food Ethics Council. He has written for The Guardian,

The Times Literary Supplement, the Financial Times and Prospect magazine, as well as a plethora

of academic journals and think tanks. In his wide-ranging and definitive new book, as well as a plethora of academic journals and think tanks.

In his wide-ranging and definitive new book, How the World Eats, Begini argues that the need

for a better understanding of how we feed ourselves has never been more urgent.

Begini delves into the best and worst food practices around the world in a huge array

of different societies, past and present,

exploring cutting-edge technologies, the ethics and health of ultra-processed food, and the effectiveness

of our food governance. His goal, to extract a food philosophy of essential principles on which

to build a food system fit for the 21st century and beyond. What is that food philosophy?

Let's tuck in and find out.

...