Paul Roberts might be best known for his first book, “The End of Oil,” which tackled the world’s complex energy economy and the environment in 2004.
More recently, however, the 49-year-old Leavenworth-based journalist published a book about a subject
even closer to his heart, not to mention his stomach.
“The End of Food” explores the evolution of food from man’s early eating habits to the industrialized agriculture now dominating the world.
“I’ve always been interested in food and the cult
ure of food,” Roberts said. “Food is wound up in who we are and where we come from. When you take that and you industrialize it, then what happens?”
Next week Roberts will share his insights into the challenges of the modern food system with a free evening lecture April 20 at Everett Community College in honor of Earth Week.
In his talk, “Feeding the Machine: Rewards and Risks of the Global Food System,” he’ll discuss the “paradox of plenty,” as he calls it, that enables billions of people to enjoy a level of nutrition unprecedented in history, but that is causing problems such as foodborne illnesses, obesity and soil degradation in the face of rising energy costs and climate change.
Roberts, who grew up on Orcas Island, has talked about his research and findings on CNN, the BBC, PBS, MSNBC, CBS and NPR. He has written for the Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post and The Guardian. His work also has appeared in Slate, USA Today, The New Republic, Newsweek, The Christian Science Monitor, Rolling Stone and Outside.
In his Everett talk, Roberts won’t be all doom and gloom. In fact, “The End of Food,” published in 2009, offers some solutions to the problems of the modern food system.
Solutions include cooking more, eating less meat and trying to create less dependence on the so-called food machine.
In a busy age filled with myriad convenience foods, that can be incredibly difficult, he admits.
“People will say, ‘You can’t support the whole world on local farms. Everyone can’t go back to being a farmer.’
“You can really frustrate and depress yourself pretty quickly.”
Eaters who want to make a change in the world, he said, should follow their own interests and not strive for perfection, or a diet of 100-percent local, organic, sustainable, unprocessed food.
“Very few of us can be locavores and just eat within 100 miles. That’s very tough to do if you’re trying to work and raise a family,” he said. “You’re going to be paralyzed waiting for the perfect to happen.”
EvCC will provide some free resources for local food fans with a food and farm fair from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the day of Roberts’ talk.
Visitors can meet representatives from Washington farms, local community supported agriculture programs, food cooperatives and organizations involved in food production, as well as experts in gardening, land stewardship, beekeeping, food preservation, rain barrels and worm bins.
Both Roberts’ talk and the fair are part of the college’s ongoing sustainability programs, including the yearlong EvCC Reads program, which featured the book, “Plenty: Eating Locally on the 100-Mile Diet.”
While “Plenty” told the story of a Canadian couple who made a yearlong attempt to eat food grown or produced within a 100-mile radius of their apartment, “The End of Food,” is a look at the bigger, global picture, said Jeanne Leader, dean of arts and learning resources at EvCC.
Leader, who is encouraging students and faculty to read “The End of Food” before Roberts’ talk, said the book is fascinating, but quite frightening, too.
“Food as we know it, I think we are at the end of it,” she said.
It’s been easy to engage students and faculty in discussions about both books, Leader said.
“It’s very personal. If there is one thing we have in common, it’s food and water. We can all relate to each other somehow in talking about food,” she said.
People love to talk about what they ate, what they’re going to eat, Leader said.
“What we don’t like to talk about very much is the food problems,” she said. “What’s happened to our diets? We’ve eating worse than we ever have.”
Sarah Jackson: 425-339-3037, sjackson@heraldnet.com.
If you go
What and when: In honor of Earth Week, Everett Community College will host a food and farm fair from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 20, followed by a 7 p.m. lecture by Paul Roberts, the author of “The End of Food.”
Where: Everett Community College, 2000 Tower St., Everett. Both events will be in the Parks Student Union multipurpose room. All short-term visitor parking is located next to Gray Wolf Hall. Visitor parking passes for a maximum of two hours are available at machines in the parking lots.
Cost: All events are free.
Food producers: It’s not too late for local food producers to sign up for a free booth at the food and farm fair. Contact Jeanne Leader at evccreads@everettcc.edu or 425-388-9502 to make arrangements by Friday.
Information: Learn more at www.everettcc.edu/earthweek and www.theendoffood.com or call 425-388-9502.
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