Acclaimed photographer George Steinmetz documents the awesome global effort that puts food on our tables and transforms the surface of the Earth.
FEED THE PLANET
A Photographic Journey to the World’s Food
Photographs by George Steinmetz; Text by Joel K. Bourne Jr.
Abrams, October 2024
Do you know where your food comes from? To find out, photographer George Steinmetz spent a decade traveling to more than 36 countries, 24 US states, and 5 oceans documenting global food systems. In striking aerial images, he captures the massive scale of 21st–century agriculture that has sculpted 40 percent of the Earth’s landmass. He explores the farming of staples like wheat and rice, the cultivation of vegetables and fruits, fishing and aquaculture, and meat production, showing us both traditional farming in diverse cultures and vast agribusinesses that fuel international trade. From Kansas wheat fields to a shrimp cocktail’s origins in India to cattle stations in Australia larger than some countries, Steinmetz tracks the foods on the world’s tables back to land and sea, field and factory.
With text by veteran environmental journalist Joel K. Bourne Jr., Feed the Planet brings the impact of visual images, accompanied by clear explanations and accurate information, to one of humanity’s deepest needs, greatest pleasures, and most pressing challenges: Bringing nutritious and sustainably produced food to the Earth’s growing population.
George Steinmetz is an award–winning documentary photographer whose large–scale projects on pressing global issues have been published in National Geographic magazine, the New York Times, and many other leading publications. His books for Abrams include The Human Planet (2020), New York Air (2015), Desert Air (2012), Empty Quarter (2009), and African Air (2008). He lives in New Jersey with his wife, journalist Lisa Bannon.
Joel K. Bourne Jr. is an award–winning environmental journalist and the author of The End of Plenty: The Race to Feed a Crowded World (2015). He is a former Senior Editor for the Environment at National Geographic magazine, where he remains a frequent contributor covering agriculture, energy, and environmental issues around the globe. He lives with his family in Wilmington, North Carolina.
In SUPPER WITH LOVE, Michelle shares her very personal journey of food, love, and life. With some of her favorite beautifully photographed recipes for vibrant and satisfying salads, soups, side dishes, sandwiches, bowls, brinners, and suppers, highlighting natural and in-season ingredients every step of the way. Bringing meatless twists to some classic comfort dishes, she crafts approachable, easy-to-prepare meals that are nourishing and crave-worthy. And as a firm believer in finding the food lifestyle that works best for you, she encourages readers to get into your groove and “freestyle it » by offering countless variations and substitutions for ingredients, ways to “veganize” recipes (if they aren’t already vegan), recipe pairings, and creative ways to repurpose leftovers, so you can enjoy her recipes any way you want. From simple one-pot meals to Sunday suppers, there are recipes for every taste, mood, and schedule.
Research shows that 1 in 7 of us across the globe is addicted to ultra-processed foods (UPFs), with 1 in 8 children also addicted to UPFs. Often labelled as ‘healthy’, UPFs are everywhere we look – in our shopping baskets, our children’s lunch boxes and our kitchen cupboards. Yet research has shown these foods are synonymous with ill-health and a litany of chronic conditions, such as type 2 diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular disease.
In this truly kid-friendly cookbook, REBEL GIRLS COOKBOOK 1 shares tips, tricks, and stories to excite and empower young people in the kitchen.
Bëtul Tunç began creating vintage-style videos with her unique aesthetic and met with an incredible response. One of her first videos, featuring punch-down dough, went viral, amassing nearly 2 million views—an astounding achievement for a page with fewer than 30,000 followers at the time. This marked the inception of a new trend, with countless other punch-down videos mimicking her signature style. Bëtul’s follower count skyrocketed to 5 million in just a year, propelled by the interest in her vintage style videos and her ability to make these sometimes-complex dough recipes look easy and doable (her Instagram account now sits at 8.3M).