Food Fight

From Plunder and Profit to People and Planet

By: Stuart Gillespie

'Scholarly, literate and deeply moving, this isn't just a good read, it's an essential reference for anyone hoping to understand the food system, why it's broken and how we might imagine fixing it' CHRIS VAN TULLEKEN

Food is life but our food system is killing us. Designed in a different century for a different purpose - to mass-produce cheap calories to prevent famine - it's now generating obesity, ill-health and driving the climate crisis. We need to transform it into a system that can nourish all eight billion of us and the planet we live on.

In Food Fight, Stuart Gillespie reveals how the system we once relied upon for global nutrition has warped into the very thing making us sick. From its origins in colonial plunder through to the last few decades of neoliberalism, the system now lies in the tight grip of a handful of powerful transnationals who are playing for profit at any cost - aided by governments who let them get away with it. With his eye trained on the future and on solutions within our grasp, Gillespie also celebrates the impact of success stories from around the world, driven by remarkable citizens, social movements, policy makers and politicians. These case studies offer hope that, by organising and learning, we can build a better food future for ourselves and for our children.

Both unflinching exposé, and revolutionary call to arms, Food Fight maps a way towards a new system that gives us hope for a future of global health and justice.

©2025 Stuart Gillespie (P)2025 Canongate Books Ltd

Critic reviews

'If you want to change our rotten corrupt food system, you first have to understand it. Food Fight is the gripping book we have been waiting for, from a veteran of the food wars. Essential reading for anyone interested in our health and the planet' (TIM SPECTOR, author of SPOON FED and FOOD FOR LIFE)

'From his years of experience working in international nutrition, Gillespie has on-the-ground knowledge of why and how global food systems lead to widespread hunger, obesity and environmental damage, and what needs to be done to make those systems healthier for all. He makes it clear that this food fight is crucial to take on' (MARION NESTLE, author of FOOD POLITICS)

'The need for a radical overhaul of our food system has never been more urgent. Food Fight powerfully articulates the intricate web of historical, economic and political factors that have led us to this point of crisis. It is a clarion call for action, demanding that we rethink and restructure our food systems not just for today, but for generations to come. We owe it to our children and our planet to move beyond incremental reforms and embrace true' transformation (HENRY DIMBLEBY, author of RAVENOUS)

'Stuart Gillespie has spent over forty years working on the front-line of nutrition policies across the world - in this brilliant book, he pulls together why we're still seeing such high levels of malnutrition in the world, the role of corporations and key suggestions on how to improve it. A must-read for those interested in food and nutrition' (DEVI SRIDHAR, Professor and Chair of Global Public Health at the University of Edinburgh and bestselling author of PREVENTABLE)