What do you think?
Rate this book
Bread, Wine, Chocolate: The Slow Loss of Foods We Love
In the last century, we have lived—and eaten—through the most dramatic shifts ever experienced in food and agriculture. While much of this is invisible, what we do know is that food is beginning to look and taste the same, whether you’re strolling through a San Francisco farmers market, at a Midwestern potluck—or a McDonald’s in India. Ninety-five percent of the world’s calories now come from only 30 species, and a closer look at America’s cornucopia of grocery store options reveals that our foods are primarily made up of corn, wheat, rice, palm oil and soybeans. The diversity of our food supply is dwindling.
Part journey to six continents in pursuit of delicious and endangered tastes, part investigation of the loss of biodiversity from soil to plate, Bread, Wine, Chocolate tells the story of what we are losing, how we are losing it, and the inspiring people and places that are sustaining the foods we love—celebrating the fact that the solutions to the loss of agrobiodiversity aren’t difficult; they’re delicious.
Join award-winning journalist Simran Sethi as she travels from wild coffee forests in Ethiopia to cocoa plantations of Ecuador, from the brewery to the bakery and the temple, to meet scientists, farmers, chefs, wine makers, beer brewers, coffee roasters and chocolate connoisseurs to discuss the reasons for this loss and learn what it means to experience food in a whole new way, tasting foods more deeply through each one of our senses in order to savor—and save—the foods we love.
Part journey to six continents in pursuit of delicious and endangered tastes, part investigation of the loss of biodiversity from soil to plate, Bread, Wine, Chocolate tells the story of what we are losing, how we are losing it, and the inspiring people and places that are sustaining the foods we love—celebrating the fact that the solutions to the loss of agrobiodiversity aren’t difficult; they’re delicious.
Join award-winning journalist Simran Sethi as she travels from wild coffee forests in Ethiopia to cocoa plantations of Ecuador, from the brewery to the bakery and the temple, to meet scientists, farmers, chefs, wine makers, beer brewers, coffee roasters and chocolate connoisseurs to discuss the reasons for this loss and learn what it means to experience food in a whole new way, tasting foods more deeply through each one of our senses in order to savor—and save—the foods we love.
350 pages, Hardcover
First published November 10, 2015
140 people are currently reading
2672 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 148 reviews
May 5, 2020
You look at the title, Bread Wine Chocolate, and you’re already engaged. I mean, what’s not to like? Clearly three items selected from the book to grab our attention, since in reality, the book is, in order, Wine Chocolate Coffee Beer Bread Octopus. The book came highly anticipated, with suggestions being bandied about that this would be the next big, amazing food book. I clicked a link, put it in my Kindle queue to be purchased when it was released, and more or less forgot about it until it showed up one day. I might have left my cursor hovering over the button rather than clicking, had I taken a moment to check out the author, Simran Sethi, a former MTV producer turned news anchor for, oh, MTV, who has gone on to continue work in the media world for various… how can I put this politely… touchie feelie outlets like Mother Earth News and TreeHugger. I’m not, at all, against the environment, sustainability, or anything else of the sort, don’t get me wrong, but it might have had me wondering about her bias in advance, rather than after the fact.
Though in truth, it’s not her bias that ruins this book for me. It’s her writing. I really wanted to like the book. There’s some great, well researched information in it. The problem is, it’s presented in a manner that ping-pongs back and forth between journalistic factual reporting and breathless golly gee whiz wow teen girl gossip style at a pace that would make the cut editors of Reality Bites envious. She also comes across as really, really, self absorbed, self indulgent, and self anything else you might care to insert, as she wings her way across the world with hand-grinder for coffee beans in one hand and an Aeropress brewer in the other, ruing that she isn’t back home with her Keurig machine (oh yeah, all those K-cups are just great for the environment) and her $13 designer chocolate bars. She spends the first couple of chapters of the book outlining what she’s going to cover and why she’s the one to do so, and how much we’re going to appreciate her having done so. Yes, yes, she got down and dirty with the folk who produce these various products, and sampled and tasted and learned to appreciate things at their source. And then promptly trundled back to her hotel to soak in the tub and anxiously write her next words on the balcony at sunset and then jet off to another exotic locale. If you like to hug trees, you’ll probably like this book.
Though in truth, it’s not her bias that ruins this book for me. It’s her writing. I really wanted to like the book. There’s some great, well researched information in it. The problem is, it’s presented in a manner that ping-pongs back and forth between journalistic factual reporting and breathless golly gee whiz wow teen girl gossip style at a pace that would make the cut editors of Reality Bites envious. She also comes across as really, really, self absorbed, self indulgent, and self anything else you might care to insert, as she wings her way across the world with hand-grinder for coffee beans in one hand and an Aeropress brewer in the other, ruing that she isn’t back home with her Keurig machine (oh yeah, all those K-cups are just great for the environment) and her $13 designer chocolate bars. She spends the first couple of chapters of the book outlining what she’s going to cover and why she’s the one to do so, and how much we’re going to appreciate her having done so. Yes, yes, she got down and dirty with the folk who produce these various products, and sampled and tasted and learned to appreciate things at their source. And then promptly trundled back to her hotel to soak in the tub and anxiously write her next words on the balcony at sunset and then jet off to another exotic locale. If you like to hug trees, you’ll probably like this book.
July 15, 2016
I had such high hopes for this book and really wanted to love it (based on what I thought the topic was, given the title). Unfortunately, I only mildly liked it (I would give it a 2.5 * max).
The author meanders between interesting factoids (that she sometimes doesn't explore further - coffee is responsible for the American and French revolutions? Tell me more?), and personal anecdotes, that often don't segue well, taking the reader out of the narrative in a jolting fashion. There are also strange hints of eroticism as the author describes the people she meets.
To some extent, the overall message is lost - but I do value what I think the overall message was supposed to be, that we should value biodiversity in our food systems and the ordinary consumer should fight against corporate monocultures and the industrialization of food systems, and just be mindful of their food, both what (and who) it took to get it to their plates and the full sensory experience.
I especially liked the last chapter - so I didn't consider the read a waste of my time.
This is a review about disappointment.
The author meanders between interesting factoids (that she sometimes doesn't explore further - coffee is responsible for the American and French revolutions? Tell me more?), and personal anecdotes, that often don't segue well, taking the reader out of the narrative in a jolting fashion. There are also strange hints of eroticism as the author describes the people she meets.
To some extent, the overall message is lost - but I do value what I think the overall message was supposed to be, that we should value biodiversity in our food systems and the ordinary consumer should fight against corporate monocultures and the industrialization of food systems, and just be mindful of their food, both what (and who) it took to get it to their plates and the full sensory experience.
I especially liked the last chapter - so I didn't consider the read a waste of my time.
This is a review about disappointment.
February 9, 2017
I strongly recommend this book, unless you are susceptible to the sin of envy. That's what I felt as the author took me on a tour of the world to discuss her (and my) three favorite foodstuffs.
Sethi resigned from her tenured position at a midwestern university to undertake such a daring adventure, which speaks loudly of her dedication to, and passion for, her subject. And she doesn't disappoint, giving a fascinating account of the economic, environmental and social aspects of the production and preservation of this culinary trinity.
With her erudite, but casual, writing style, I also felt I got to know the author better with each turn of the page. She's the kind person you would like to have coffee (or chocolate) with, or maybe break some bread.
PS: This book also makes excellent gift (I sent a copy to my daughter for Christmas).
Sethi resigned from her tenured position at a midwestern university to undertake such a daring adventure, which speaks loudly of her dedication to, and passion for, her subject. And she doesn't disappoint, giving a fascinating account of the economic, environmental and social aspects of the production and preservation of this culinary trinity.
With her erudite, but casual, writing style, I also felt I got to know the author better with each turn of the page. She's the kind person you would like to have coffee (or chocolate) with, or maybe break some bread.
PS: This book also makes excellent gift (I sent a copy to my daughter for Christmas).
September 14, 2017
I listened to the audiobook while I did chores around the house and enjoyed this book about food and diversity and how corporate farming is concentrated on just a few varieties of crops and what kind of danger that places us if that crop were to fail, think Ireland during the potato famine. The varities favored don't necessarily have the best taste, they are bred for high yield and high profit.
The author travels around the world looking for great tastes that have been achieved by local growers and more diversity.
The author travels around the world looking for great tastes that have been achieved by local growers and more diversity.
November 8, 2022
I saw this book on my feed as a book recommendation post by a handle I follow on Instagrm. I've been studying a lot about different foods, its origin, its influences, its pairings, customs and traditions revolving around food, etc. And this book fit perfectly well into my journey of discovery.
In the last century we have eaten through the most dramatic shifts ever experienced in food and agriculture. While much of this is invisible, but it is apparent now that food is beginning to look and taste the same, irrespective of whether you are in a farmer's market in SFO, at a potluck in Dubai or at a McDonald's in India. Sadly, the most delicious and diverse varieties of food are being lost, slowly and irrevocably.
This book catalogs author Simran Sethi's travels from the forests of Ethiopia to cocoa plantations of Ecuador, and vineries in the Napa, and so much more, meeting scientists, farmers, chefs, wine makers, chocolate connoisseurs and many others to discuss the reasons for this loss of biodiversity, and how it will impact us while also learning to experience food in a whole different way, tasting them more deeply using all of our senses and not just one or two, to savor, and above all, save the foods we love.
The book is full of geeky bits of science and mind-blowing insights about food. And what i loved the most is the part detailing how memory and culture influences our perception of taste. The books focuses on foods we know, but then, do we realy know it?
Most importantly, the book draws focus on the threat to culinary diversity as a result of genentic erosion. And culinary diversity along with cultural diversity is a very important component of agrobiodiversity.
The book moves smoothly like dream and is making me question my choices and relationships with food, while helping me build newer, more intimate ones based on the insights, knowledge and instances I read about.
This is one book that deserves a 5/5, that's how excellent it is. One of the best books on food I have ever read. Above all, it is much needed in today's times.
#books #currentlyreading #bookstagram #food #foodblogger #foodgram #bread #wine
In the last century we have eaten through the most dramatic shifts ever experienced in food and agriculture. While much of this is invisible, but it is apparent now that food is beginning to look and taste the same, irrespective of whether you are in a farmer's market in SFO, at a potluck in Dubai or at a McDonald's in India. Sadly, the most delicious and diverse varieties of food are being lost, slowly and irrevocably.
This book catalogs author Simran Sethi's travels from the forests of Ethiopia to cocoa plantations of Ecuador, and vineries in the Napa, and so much more, meeting scientists, farmers, chefs, wine makers, chocolate connoisseurs and many others to discuss the reasons for this loss of biodiversity, and how it will impact us while also learning to experience food in a whole different way, tasting them more deeply using all of our senses and not just one or two, to savor, and above all, save the foods we love.
The book is full of geeky bits of science and mind-blowing insights about food. And what i loved the most is the part detailing how memory and culture influences our perception of taste. The books focuses on foods we know, but then, do we realy know it?
Most importantly, the book draws focus on the threat to culinary diversity as a result of genentic erosion. And culinary diversity along with cultural diversity is a very important component of agrobiodiversity.
The book moves smoothly like dream and is making me question my choices and relationships with food, while helping me build newer, more intimate ones based on the insights, knowledge and instances I read about.
This is one book that deserves a 5/5, that's how excellent it is. One of the best books on food I have ever read. Above all, it is much needed in today's times.
#books #currentlyreading #bookstagram #food #foodblogger #foodgram #bread #wine
November 9, 2015
A fantastic read!! Tasting foods and drinks will never be the same again. I learned so much about the difference between taste and flavor, and I can't wait to have a tasting party with my friends. Simran's writing is engaging and smart, with incredible food detours to places like the coffee forests of Ethiopia and the yeast cultures lab in England. As I was reading, I felt like I was transported to those places with her, learning alongside her as she harvested her first cacao pod and tasted the first beer she ever truly liked. But what I couldn't stop thinking about after I put the book down were all of the inspiring people Simran met who are working to save the biodiversity of the foods we love most, foods I never knew were in danger at all.
January 17, 2019
I really wanted to read a light-hearted, fun, informative book on food. Unfortunately this book is none of the above. The author is pretty self-absorbed, writing with a bunch of vague, random references to personal issues around love, loss, etc..but they are somewhat silly and don't contribute to the narrative. Her style is otherwise bland. The colored pages on "how to taste" (chocolate, coffee, wine etc), and those tasting wheels at the end are unhelpful.
This is a far cry from some really well-researched, thoughtful treatises on food origin and development like Michael Pollan's "The Ominover's Dilemna".
At least I picked up this book free. Going to donate it without finishing it.
This is a far cry from some really well-researched, thoughtful treatises on food origin and development like Michael Pollan's "The Ominover's Dilemna".
At least I picked up this book free. Going to donate it without finishing it.
November 11, 2015
This is a must read for any foodie or individual that has even a smidgen of care for what they put in their mouth. It's a lesson on mindfulness and taking the time to understand where our food comes from and why it is what it is. The author writes from the most intimate of spaces as she takes you on little known journeys around the world. Her writing is informative, inspiring and romantic, piquing all of the senses and often eliciting highly visceral responses. I highly recommend reading and sharing this book with others as an entertaining read, excellent lesson in tasting and a catalyst for thought on where we are headed with biodiversity in our food systems.
February 16, 2016
I don't think I've ever highlighted so many passages in a book before. This is a book about food, but it's also the story of how we're all part of a greater whole. Every section was a joy to devour, uncovering all the secrets, stories and characters behind the foods we love. And unlike so many books about sustainability and the environment, "Bread, Wine, Chocolate" left me feeling empowered rather than doomed.
February 23, 2021
Readingwomen #4
I read this instead of claiming to have read an entire cookbook
Cos that I am unlikely to ever do
I enjoyed this look at the origins and development, as well as current day experience of, these foods and drink. There were lots of interesting bits of information and I do love a social and political look at what we eat and drink.
Sethis looks at wine, chocolate, beer and bread - and how important it is to retain diversity in the ingredients used to create these. I feel all firer up to go searching for small independent suppliers of these foods rather than consuming the cheap. homogenous rubbish we are most often offered.
Interesting book if you care about where what you eat comes from, and why.
My favourite but also most annoying bit of info gained was that women used to be beer brewers but when the profits realised were calculated by men, suddenly there was a ban on how much barley women could buy, thus allowing men to wrestle control from the women, and all the money.
I don't even like beer but now want to find female brewers to support :-)
I read this instead of claiming to have read an entire cookbook
Cos that I am unlikely to ever do
I enjoyed this look at the origins and development, as well as current day experience of, these foods and drink. There were lots of interesting bits of information and I do love a social and political look at what we eat and drink.
Sethis looks at wine, chocolate, beer and bread - and how important it is to retain diversity in the ingredients used to create these. I feel all firer up to go searching for small independent suppliers of these foods rather than consuming the cheap. homogenous rubbish we are most often offered.
Interesting book if you care about where what you eat comes from, and why.
My favourite but also most annoying bit of info gained was that women used to be beer brewers but when the profits realised were calculated by men, suddenly there was a ban on how much barley women could buy, thus allowing men to wrestle control from the women, and all the money.
I don't even like beer but now want to find female brewers to support :-)
April 4, 2023
A bit US-centric at times but definitely a worthwhile read. Made me savour my coffee, wine, and dark chocolate a little bit more this last month, and made me want to pay deeper attention to the food I often miss out on.
February 21, 2023
I am grateful to the author for her thoroughness in getting at the root of the problem—and the problem seems to be the manner and the choices we make to feed ourselves.
September 19, 2017
This book took a while to get through but was full of information, antidotes, laughter and tears. More than anything, it was an eye-opener to the background of the foods I take for granted every day. Even if you need to skip the scientific information to get through it, this book is worth the read.
November 30, 2018
This book conjures the emotional connection we have with what we choose to eat and drink, delving into the cultural history of Sethi’s subjects as the author urges us to consider the ecological and social impacts of our consumption. Beautifully written and well researched, this is a call to action disguised as memoir—and vice versa.
September 22, 2017
What's not to like? Wine, Chocolate, Coffee, Beer, and Bread? (Plus one more that I'll get to...)
Sethi breaks each examination into three parts...a mix of her personal history with the food and historical history (wasn't sure how else to put that); looks at sourcing and the impacts of high yield hybrids and strains on the higher quality beans, grains, yeasts, grapes, etc. - loss of diversity; and a short section on how the experts suggest enjoying each. She does a good job telling the story of the small farmers, vintners, chocolatiers "operating on the slimmest og magins", trying to make a living.
I liked most of what Sethi wrote, highlighting a few quote-worthy segments...
On cacao, Colin Gasko of Rogue Chocolatier, who pays premium prices for premium cacao seeds/beans that he has to have shipped, by more costly air, with their shells intact...a 30% waste as the shells are not the cacao he needs, and resulting in low margins:
On coffee, Sethi quotes Aaron Wood, former head roaster for Seven Seeds Coffee Roasters in Australia:
On beer, Ms. Sethi says of the tragic species of beer (my term, not hers), "[a]ppropriately known as bottom-fermenting yeast, lager yeasts produce clean and crisp beers, like Corona, Heineken, Bud and Pabst Blue Ribbon. They are considered more commercial because they're uniform, controllable and don't produce the depth of flavor we find in ales." Well, she got that right. and quoting Ben Ott, former head brewer at Truman's brewery, London,
The subtitle refers to that loss of diversity, resulting in loss of quality. Think about it...junk chocolate vs gourmet chocolate; Folgers vs Ethiopian Yirgacheffe coffee; Budweiser vs actual beer...Ms. Sethi quotes Caleb Taft, at the time a wine director who introduced her to a specialty grape in a wine called Trousseau Gris:
Meaning the Beringers etal...but it's more than that. The intention behind ALL big markets is consistency: beer, chocolate, coffee...and we all lose because of that.
I thought Ms. Sethi threw in the proverbial TMI about her personal relationships in her narrative a little too often. I'm not sure if she was trying to make a connection with the reader, but given the subjects (and my personal passion for three - chocolate, coffee and beer), that connection would likely be a given for any reader. For her exposure of the problems we face when we allow a declination to the lower denominators of the Big producers, this could be a five star book, but I don't think she made enough of a case. Plus, she added a sixth "food" at the end that put me off; she crowed about a particularly well cooked octopus dish she had in Peru. She followed that travesty with an appropriate segment on overharvesting the sea resulting in, again, loss of diversity, but the damage was done in her sharing her delight in eating such an disturbingly intelligent creature.
Regardless, this is still a good book with good information about foods that I happen to like.
Sethi breaks each examination into three parts...a mix of her personal history with the food and historical history (wasn't sure how else to put that); looks at sourcing and the impacts of high yield hybrids and strains on the higher quality beans, grains, yeasts, grapes, etc. - loss of diversity; and a short section on how the experts suggest enjoying each. She does a good job telling the story of the small farmers, vintners, chocolatiers "operating on the slimmest og magins", trying to make a living.
I liked most of what Sethi wrote, highlighting a few quote-worthy segments...
On cacao, Colin Gasko of Rogue Chocolatier, who pays premium prices for premium cacao seeds/beans that he has to have shipped, by more costly air, with their shells intact...a 30% waste as the shells are not the cacao he needs, and resulting in low margins:
...there's a greater likelihood of reduction in genetic diversity if we don't value a differentiated, specialty market. My value isn't in purchasing power; it's in showing the potential of what good cacao processed in the right way can taste like.
On coffee, Sethi quotes Aaron Wood, former head roaster for Seven Seeds Coffee Roasters in Australia:
I love coffee because it's for the people. It's social. You wouldn't go out for a bar of chocolate, would you? People drink wine to get out of their day and get into their night, Coffee brings you into your day.
On beer, Ms. Sethi says of the tragic species of beer (my term, not hers), "[a]ppropriately known as bottom-fermenting yeast, lager yeasts produce clean and crisp beers, like Corona, Heineken, Bud and Pabst Blue Ribbon. They are considered more commercial because they're uniform, controllable and don't produce the depth of flavor we find in ales." Well, she got that right. and quoting Ben Ott, former head brewer at Truman's brewery, London,
If you want to attract a lot of people, then you make the beer as bland as possible.Ms. Sethi nails it with, "It works: Lager is the most popular beer in the world."
The subtitle refers to that loss of diversity, resulting in loss of quality. Think about it...junk chocolate vs gourmet chocolate; Folgers vs Ethiopian Yirgacheffe coffee; Budweiser vs actual beer...Ms. Sethi quotes Caleb Taft, at the time a wine director who introduced her to a specialty grape in a wine called Trousseau Gris:
"The intention behind big wines is consistency."
Meaning the Beringers etal...but it's more than that. The intention behind ALL big markets is consistency: beer, chocolate, coffee...and we all lose because of that.
I thought Ms. Sethi threw in the proverbial TMI about her personal relationships in her narrative a little too often. I'm not sure if she was trying to make a connection with the reader, but given the subjects (and my personal passion for three - chocolate, coffee and beer), that connection would likely be a given for any reader. For her exposure of the problems we face when we allow a declination to the lower denominators of the Big producers, this could be a five star book, but I don't think she made enough of a case. Plus, she added a sixth "food" at the end that put me off; she crowed about a particularly well cooked octopus dish she had in Peru. She followed that travesty with an appropriate segment on overharvesting the sea resulting in, again, loss of diversity, but the damage was done in her sharing her delight in eating such an disturbingly intelligent creature.
Regardless, this is still a good book with good information about foods that I happen to like.
November 5, 2015
Incredibly Powerful. Truly Inspiring. Scrumptiously Delicious.
Before reading Sethi’s book, I admittedly didn’t give much thought about the variety or origin of foods available to me. Grocery stores are filled with hundreds of options so I didn’t understand the concept of losing diversity. Any curiosity for the foods I regularly consumed was a fleeting “I should Google that later” mentality. Taking this global journey with Sethi, I learned that there are literally thousands of varieties of the foods I love, I haven’t even tried – or knew existed. But more than that – I may never get to.
With seamless ease, Sethi weaves interviews with scientists, growers, and conservationists with her own personal growth and discoveries. Covering a broad range of information, each section of the book is carefully structured with history, cultural impact, and an unrivaled depth of flavor. I’ve read numerous books that felt preachy or condescending to the uninformed consumer, but this book is truly impactful without feeling agenda-driven. Sethi admits that she was like me at the start of the book; new to learning about the foods we are addicted to. Being able to relate and identify with her while traveling to lush forests and vineyards, made it feel like I was experiencing everything first hand. I don’t want to lose depth or complexity of the coffee I can’t live without.
Sethi makes me want to grow a garden full of produce not available at the store, know the origin of every food I taste, and protect diversity by understanding my power as a consumer. This book is more than just statistics on our diets, facts on the species that we are losing everyday (though those are truly eye opening), but a deeply personal quest to find answers at the source. The people who touch the food that I eat have never felt closer, and I have never been more grateful for their effort.
I can’t wait to taste foods for the first time (or the 5,783rd time), armed with taste guides and a new appreciation for the rich flavors I’m savoring. Simran Sethi’s book is one that stays with you long after you’ve read it. For example, I was in the produce section a few days after I read a passage regarding apple varieties. Before reading this book I would have thought it was an entire isle of red, green, and yellow apples, but it was actually only 6 varieties in large quantities. Disheartened at the realization that this is one of the many things that Sethi brings awareness to, I was also proud of myself for seeing through the illusion of plenty.
To anyone who is curious about why the foods we love are at risk, how we the consumers can directly impact their future, or how to taste your favorite foods in a new way – read this book! I can’t express the personal experience or the lasting impression this book has had, but I strongly encourage you to read it.
Before reading Sethi’s book, I admittedly didn’t give much thought about the variety or origin of foods available to me. Grocery stores are filled with hundreds of options so I didn’t understand the concept of losing diversity. Any curiosity for the foods I regularly consumed was a fleeting “I should Google that later” mentality. Taking this global journey with Sethi, I learned that there are literally thousands of varieties of the foods I love, I haven’t even tried – or knew existed. But more than that – I may never get to.
With seamless ease, Sethi weaves interviews with scientists, growers, and conservationists with her own personal growth and discoveries. Covering a broad range of information, each section of the book is carefully structured with history, cultural impact, and an unrivaled depth of flavor. I’ve read numerous books that felt preachy or condescending to the uninformed consumer, but this book is truly impactful without feeling agenda-driven. Sethi admits that she was like me at the start of the book; new to learning about the foods we are addicted to. Being able to relate and identify with her while traveling to lush forests and vineyards, made it feel like I was experiencing everything first hand. I don’t want to lose depth or complexity of the coffee I can’t live without.
Sethi makes me want to grow a garden full of produce not available at the store, know the origin of every food I taste, and protect diversity by understanding my power as a consumer. This book is more than just statistics on our diets, facts on the species that we are losing everyday (though those are truly eye opening), but a deeply personal quest to find answers at the source. The people who touch the food that I eat have never felt closer, and I have never been more grateful for their effort.
I can’t wait to taste foods for the first time (or the 5,783rd time), armed with taste guides and a new appreciation for the rich flavors I’m savoring. Simran Sethi’s book is one that stays with you long after you’ve read it. For example, I was in the produce section a few days after I read a passage regarding apple varieties. Before reading this book I would have thought it was an entire isle of red, green, and yellow apples, but it was actually only 6 varieties in large quantities. Disheartened at the realization that this is one of the many things that Sethi brings awareness to, I was also proud of myself for seeing through the illusion of plenty.
To anyone who is curious about why the foods we love are at risk, how we the consumers can directly impact their future, or how to taste your favorite foods in a new way – read this book! I can’t express the personal experience or the lasting impression this book has had, but I strongly encourage you to read it.
June 16, 2016
Here are some of her facts that are terrifying:
1. 95% of the world's calories come from 30 species
2. Of 30,000 edible plant species, we cultivate 150.
3. Of the 30+ animals we've domesticated for food, 14 provide 90% of our food from livestock.
4. 75% of the world's food comes from just 12 plant and animal species.
5. 65% of world's wine comes from just 35 wine grapes
6. Corn for grain not feed uses 25% American land under cultivation.
7. Top soil "that precious inch" takes 500 years to form.
8. Estimates are that over 1/3 of all soils are degraded, meaning eroded compacted polluted or less fertile leading to estimate that our global, per person amount of productive agricultural land by 2050 will be 1/4 of what it was in 1960.
9. CA produces half of the fruit and 90% of the tree nuts harvested in America.
10. Maintaining wild plant relatives is essential because 1 in 5 species worldwide and 1 in 3 native plant species in the US is endangered by climate change, pests, disease, or loss of habitat.
11. Chocolate is an $80 billion market but West African growers receive only 3.5-6.4% of the final value of the chocolate bar, compared to 16% in the late 1980s.
12. Monsanto and Syngenta along with 2 other companies control more that 70% of the entire proprietary seed market. The top 8 companies control 94% of the commercial market and that is expected to rise. Those who control seeds, control food.
13. Water tables are dropping precipitously in Punjab, India. Wells that were 10' deep have been drilled to 200'. If agricultural practices don't change, Punjab - the food bowl of India - could be barren in 10-15 years.
14. Studies project the collapse of all saltwater fish by 2048.
Fun or Interesting facts:
1. Wine was considered a truth serum - In vino veritas - Germans, Italians, & Persians believed the true nature of a person was revealed in the glass.
2. Peoples' taste perceptions can be fooled by color, with the exception of strawberry which testers never confused regardless of color.
3. Cerevisia, the Roman's beer brew, was named for the Harvest Goddess Ceres.
Intentions post-reading:
1. Try Jolie-Laide Trousseau Gris wine.
2. Try coffee from Yirgacheffe.
3. Try to eat the smaller fish that readily reproduce.
1. 95% of the world's calories come from 30 species
2. Of 30,000 edible plant species, we cultivate 150.
3. Of the 30+ animals we've domesticated for food, 14 provide 90% of our food from livestock.
4. 75% of the world's food comes from just 12 plant and animal species.
5. 65% of world's wine comes from just 35 wine grapes
6. Corn for grain not feed uses 25% American land under cultivation.
7. Top soil "that precious inch" takes 500 years to form.
8. Estimates are that over 1/3 of all soils are degraded, meaning eroded compacted polluted or less fertile leading to estimate that our global, per person amount of productive agricultural land by 2050 will be 1/4 of what it was in 1960.
9. CA produces half of the fruit and 90% of the tree nuts harvested in America.
10. Maintaining wild plant relatives is essential because 1 in 5 species worldwide and 1 in 3 native plant species in the US is endangered by climate change, pests, disease, or loss of habitat.
11. Chocolate is an $80 billion market but West African growers receive only 3.5-6.4% of the final value of the chocolate bar, compared to 16% in the late 1980s.
12. Monsanto and Syngenta along with 2 other companies control more that 70% of the entire proprietary seed market. The top 8 companies control 94% of the commercial market and that is expected to rise. Those who control seeds, control food.
13. Water tables are dropping precipitously in Punjab, India. Wells that were 10' deep have been drilled to 200'. If agricultural practices don't change, Punjab - the food bowl of India - could be barren in 10-15 years.
14. Studies project the collapse of all saltwater fish by 2048.
Fun or Interesting facts:
1. Wine was considered a truth serum - In vino veritas - Germans, Italians, & Persians believed the true nature of a person was revealed in the glass.
2. Peoples' taste perceptions can be fooled by color, with the exception of strawberry which testers never confused regardless of color.
3. Cerevisia, the Roman's beer brew, was named for the Harvest Goddess Ceres.
Intentions post-reading:
1. Try Jolie-Laide Trousseau Gris wine.
2. Try coffee from Yirgacheffe.
3. Try to eat the smaller fish that readily reproduce.
February 14, 2016
While there were parts of this book that I wasn't as interested in and just skimmed over, the overall idea of the book was fascinating to me. I especially liked the chapters on chocolate and coffee. Really makes me think about what I am eating and what I am buying.
"I have worked hard to live a life of integrity, one in which words and actions align. That's why I sneak my own healthy snacks (ranging from organic smoothies to seaweed strips) into movie theaters and carry a reusable water bottle onto planes, suffering the withering glances of flight attendants who want to pour my water into a plastic cup and move on to the next passenger: "Can you fill up this bottle, pleas?" These acts seem small, almost inconsequential, but they are bult upon the stubborn belief that how we spend our days is how we spend our lives. I want to spend mine celebrating the things I love, honoring the people and cirumstnaces that ensure my little joys will endure. That's why I grind those coffee beans and pay more for good chocolate. I won't singlehandedly transform the commodities market, but I will take the opportunities this life provides and use them the best I can. If I am going to spend $6 on a loaf of bread or $12 on a bottle of wine, I want them to be the ones that reflect and support what I value." [pgs 240-241]
"I have worked hard to live a life of integrity, one in which words and actions align. That's why I sneak my own healthy snacks (ranging from organic smoothies to seaweed strips) into movie theaters and carry a reusable water bottle onto planes, suffering the withering glances of flight attendants who want to pour my water into a plastic cup and move on to the next passenger: "Can you fill up this bottle, pleas?" These acts seem small, almost inconsequential, but they are bult upon the stubborn belief that how we spend our days is how we spend our lives. I want to spend mine celebrating the things I love, honoring the people and cirumstnaces that ensure my little joys will endure. That's why I grind those coffee beans and pay more for good chocolate. I won't singlehandedly transform the commodities market, but I will take the opportunities this life provides and use them the best I can. If I am going to spend $6 on a loaf of bread or $12 on a bottle of wine, I want them to be the ones that reflect and support what I value." [pgs 240-241]
November 28, 2015
I really enjoyed this book--so much that it's going to be a few people's holiday gifts this year.
I felt like I was at a wonderful dinner party where very knowledgeable guests were talking about food--minus any kind of food-snobbery!
The book isn't about what you should or shouldn't eat, instead it's talking about how we don't realize that while we feel like we have so many options to choose from food has really become much less diverse. Sectioned off into Wine, Chocolate, Beer, Bread, Coffee, and Octopus, Preeti Simran Sethi weaves her connection with the foods with trips to farms, restaurants and conversations with really interesting and food passionate people in a way that never left me feeling bored.
I recommend to anyone who enjoys food.
I felt like I was at a wonderful dinner party where very knowledgeable guests were talking about food--minus any kind of food-snobbery!
The book isn't about what you should or shouldn't eat, instead it's talking about how we don't realize that while we feel like we have so many options to choose from food has really become much less diverse. Sectioned off into Wine, Chocolate, Beer, Bread, Coffee, and Octopus, Preeti Simran Sethi weaves her connection with the foods with trips to farms, restaurants and conversations with really interesting and food passionate people in a way that never left me feeling bored.
I recommend to anyone who enjoys food.
January 15, 2018
I am really on the fence with this book. I like the discussions about biodiversity and our concerns about the problems of feeding a growing population. I enjoyed the individual sections on Bread, Wine, Chocolate, Beer and Octopus (I feel a little sorry for the octopus because I live in Port Angeles and we have a great relationship with octopus at our Feiro Marine Science Center). I wish the author had kept to herself. I believe she had to intersperse her feelings; breakups, cigarettes and job disappointments as part of her quest. Those sentiments took away from what is otherwise a brilliant discussion of traditional versus high yield with all of their negatives as well as positives.
August 6, 2019
As a note to the author, we don't interview poor, barely getting by farmers by going into their fields and then crying that they're poisoning you (by using synthetic chemicals on their plants).
Some interesting information and companies to look into. I wish there was more information/companies to look into, though. How *would* I find these specific things she was talking about? And when I can't find the one specific thing in the middle of nowhere Ohio, what are the better alternatives in what I do have available?
Some interesting information and companies to look into. I wish there was more information/companies to look into, though. How *would* I find these specific things she was talking about? And when I can't find the one specific thing in the middle of nowhere Ohio, what are the better alternatives in what I do have available?
November 23, 2015
It's a rare instance when science, logic, and facts can be authored into a beautifully written story. This is a fluent tale about something we can all relate so closely to - foods we love and couldn't live without. Sethi draws you in with her adventures, while grounding you with the hard truths we so often ignore. She reels you in, one mouth-watering chapter at a time, and leaves you thoughtfully informed (and hungry!). I hope to see more from her. Thank you, Simran Sethi!
December 27, 2015
Went to see the author speak, and I was worried from the speech that it would be a little too "Eat Pray Love" for me. But, luckily, it was both an emotionally AND scientifically meaningful argument for preservation of biodiversity with respect to what we eat. I would recommend it to folks interested in food science and/or natural history.
May 2, 2016
This book made me look for a red wine I would like, expand my efforts to make an actually good cup of coffee, and taught me a lot about goods I eat often. It deserves 5 stars just for making an actual impact on my life, but also it is an exploration of the cultural significance of foods we love which is also something I believe in and love to learn about.
December 4, 2018
A nice memoir about food experiences and an attempt to raise awareness of biodiversity and threats to it is always good. No exceptions here. My major, and admittedly subjective, problem is the authorial voice of privilege made it seem self indulgent, but at the same time I feel it’s worth reading for the substance, if not the style.
October 4, 2017
Interesting book, not my favorite. it is worth reading because the subject is interesting. The author has a lot of emotions connected to food and relations that is transcribed in the book.
October 18, 2017
I don't know that I ever thought about biodiversity prior to reading Bread, Wine, Chocolate: The Slow Loss of Foods We Love. It wasn't a totally unfamiliar term, likely encountered in a class or some other book, yet if asked to define it I would have not really known what I was talking about (though not far off, as "bio" and "diversity" are both well known words; the combination of the two goes about like you'd expect). But as much of Bread, Wine, Chocolate is about bread, wine, and chocolate (and coffee, and beer), it's even more about thinking about the ingredients that form the base of the food chain, and the way industrialized farming favors the specific strains that produce the largest yield.
This quote from one of the introductory chapters sums up the problem: "According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 95 perfect of the world's calories now come from 30 species. Of 30,000 edible plant species, we cultivate about 150. And of the more than 30 birds and mammals we've domesticated for food, only 14 animals provide 90 percent of the food we get from livestock. The loss is staggering. Three-fourths of the world's food comes from just twelve plants and five animal species."
Bread, Wine, Chocolate riffs the theme of monocrops and the loss of biodiversity constantly throughout, but at the same time this is a book that exists as a love letter to foods Simran Sethi loves. She takes us into microbreweries, jungles where coffee "beans" grow wild, grape fields of California; the combination of reporting and personal narrative ends up feel like Anthony Bourdain, except with an ever-lingering eye on WHY our food system is what it is and, as consumers, what our options are.
To that point, Sethi's choice of foods to focus on are solid. It's hard to imagine a life without coffee. From our American armchair perspective, it's cheap and plentiful. Yet the behind the scenes reality showcases an industry where biodiversity is rare (and certainly not valued by big coffee distributors) and where most of the coffee farmers struggling to make ends meet. She picks things that are sort of sexy and favored by hipsters (coffee, beer) and widely consumed (wine, chocolate) and staples of most people's diet (bread). Each teeters on the precipice of annihilation.
Yet Bread, Wine, Chocolate avoids feeling like a total scare piece because Sethi weaves her own story into the fabric of the narrative. The awe she feels upon detecting flavors she'd never considered possible in wine before, the confusion at considering a piece of bread to be about the spirituality rather than the taste, her anger that appreciation for beer eludes her.
It's a book that wants people to enjoy a variety of flavors and experiences when they consume food. Each section ends with a chapter on how to do a tasting--to connect with the food or beverage being sampled. To enjoy the "terroir" (a term she uses a lot) of the product.
Maybe there has been no better time for such a book. On the one hand, we've shown as a society that premium products can sell over cheaper, less tasty alternatives. Look at the explosion of craft beer over the big brand domestics. IPAs may never outsell Budweiser, but the market is there. The market supports experimentation. New things. Look at the proliferation of small coffee shops. And, while not a great example of coffee, Starbucks proves that we'll pay a higher price for coffee. On the other hand, the current banana scare shows that these fears aren't just pie-in-the-sky worries. We could see a world without bananas because the monostrain we eat could succumb to disease. Several years back there was a big nation-wide egg shortage. We are seeing actual consequences.
I don't know that one book can change the world, but necessity may. It'll be interesting to see how it all develops.
This quote from one of the introductory chapters sums up the problem: "According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 95 perfect of the world's calories now come from 30 species. Of 30,000 edible plant species, we cultivate about 150. And of the more than 30 birds and mammals we've domesticated for food, only 14 animals provide 90 percent of the food we get from livestock. The loss is staggering. Three-fourths of the world's food comes from just twelve plants and five animal species."
Bread, Wine, Chocolate riffs the theme of monocrops and the loss of biodiversity constantly throughout, but at the same time this is a book that exists as a love letter to foods Simran Sethi loves. She takes us into microbreweries, jungles where coffee "beans" grow wild, grape fields of California; the combination of reporting and personal narrative ends up feel like Anthony Bourdain, except with an ever-lingering eye on WHY our food system is what it is and, as consumers, what our options are.
To that point, Sethi's choice of foods to focus on are solid. It's hard to imagine a life without coffee. From our American armchair perspective, it's cheap and plentiful. Yet the behind the scenes reality showcases an industry where biodiversity is rare (and certainly not valued by big coffee distributors) and where most of the coffee farmers struggling to make ends meet. She picks things that are sort of sexy and favored by hipsters (coffee, beer) and widely consumed (wine, chocolate) and staples of most people's diet (bread). Each teeters on the precipice of annihilation.
Yet Bread, Wine, Chocolate avoids feeling like a total scare piece because Sethi weaves her own story into the fabric of the narrative. The awe she feels upon detecting flavors she'd never considered possible in wine before, the confusion at considering a piece of bread to be about the spirituality rather than the taste, her anger that appreciation for beer eludes her.
It's a book that wants people to enjoy a variety of flavors and experiences when they consume food. Each section ends with a chapter on how to do a tasting--to connect with the food or beverage being sampled. To enjoy the "terroir" (a term she uses a lot) of the product.
Maybe there has been no better time for such a book. On the one hand, we've shown as a society that premium products can sell over cheaper, less tasty alternatives. Look at the explosion of craft beer over the big brand domestics. IPAs may never outsell Budweiser, but the market is there. The market supports experimentation. New things. Look at the proliferation of small coffee shops. And, while not a great example of coffee, Starbucks proves that we'll pay a higher price for coffee. On the other hand, the current banana scare shows that these fears aren't just pie-in-the-sky worries. We could see a world without bananas because the monostrain we eat could succumb to disease. Several years back there was a big nation-wide egg shortage. We are seeing actual consequences.
I don't know that one book can change the world, but necessity may. It'll be interesting to see how it all develops.
January 29, 2019
I'd give it between 2 and 2.5 stars. I felt I should have liked this book- a meandering exploration and description of diversity in food, slow food, small scale farming and production, and delicious tastes of rare foods- centered on wine, chocolate, coffee and bread. I felt I should like it because I am somewhat of a foodie, a person concerned about biodiversity loss and agriculture industrialization, and fair wages for farmers- this book falls as neatly into my hobbies and interests as almost any book could! But alas it comes off to me as elitist, stuck up, and inaccessible. I guess not surprising since actually all of these items except for bread are luxury items for the vast majority of humans.
It copies the Michael Pollan technique of taking four foods and exploring the "socio ecological natural history" of each of them (as he did in Botany of Desire and Cooked). I enjoyed a few bits here and there, such as how coffee and chocolate are actually made, and the diseases affecting vineyards, and a bit of the history and science of the different foods. But the attitude of the author, or at least the way the author describes the food, is downright annoying. It sounds like "you can only get true pleasure from the smallest batch, the rarest and most esoteric varieties, the mostly slowly and lovingly prepared food." And to some lesser or greater degrees I'm on board with that, especially for bread and coffee, but the author is just really in your face about it, and repeats this over and over and over.
The other major complaint I have is that the author doesn't talk much about what the title of the book suggests- the loss of the foods. Mostly its about her particular tastes and love of food, and the interviews with the scientists, farmers, and craftspeople involved in production. But there is very little about climate change, industrial food complex, geopolitical forces, government policies, etc. Ok some of that might be boring but the book doesn't live up to its title. And there's only very little about the value of different varieties of food for resilience of agriculture- its mostly about the authors interest in unique tastes ("ah, the grassy notes of the wine, the smoke taste underneath the strawberry flavor underneath the soil overtones underneath the molasses of the coffee"... you know what I mean). Again not really what the title and the preface proclaim. And is buying a $15 bar of chocolate really the best way for us to help the disintegrating food and natural system?
That said, I'm giving it two stars because I do love its appreciation for biodiversity, the value of many cultivars and ways of growing food. And I learned a few things, and some of the descriptions of taste and food give inspiration for trying some of this super specialty chocolate. But I think it will put off most readers- even those who are already in the camp of foodies, locavores, hipsters, and self-righteous ecophiles :)
PS her occasional slightly erotic comments on the peasant farmers she meets and her frequent veiled illusions to her past disastrous love life (which she drowned in chocolate bars) are really awkward and distracting
It copies the Michael Pollan technique of taking four foods and exploring the "socio ecological natural history" of each of them (as he did in Botany of Desire and Cooked). I enjoyed a few bits here and there, such as how coffee and chocolate are actually made, and the diseases affecting vineyards, and a bit of the history and science of the different foods. But the attitude of the author, or at least the way the author describes the food, is downright annoying. It sounds like "you can only get true pleasure from the smallest batch, the rarest and most esoteric varieties, the mostly slowly and lovingly prepared food." And to some lesser or greater degrees I'm on board with that, especially for bread and coffee, but the author is just really in your face about it, and repeats this over and over and over.
The other major complaint I have is that the author doesn't talk much about what the title of the book suggests- the loss of the foods. Mostly its about her particular tastes and love of food, and the interviews with the scientists, farmers, and craftspeople involved in production. But there is very little about climate change, industrial food complex, geopolitical forces, government policies, etc. Ok some of that might be boring but the book doesn't live up to its title. And there's only very little about the value of different varieties of food for resilience of agriculture- its mostly about the authors interest in unique tastes ("ah, the grassy notes of the wine, the smoke taste underneath the strawberry flavor underneath the soil overtones underneath the molasses of the coffee"... you know what I mean). Again not really what the title and the preface proclaim. And is buying a $15 bar of chocolate really the best way for us to help the disintegrating food and natural system?
That said, I'm giving it two stars because I do love its appreciation for biodiversity, the value of many cultivars and ways of growing food. And I learned a few things, and some of the descriptions of taste and food give inspiration for trying some of this super specialty chocolate. But I think it will put off most readers- even those who are already in the camp of foodies, locavores, hipsters, and self-righteous ecophiles :)
PS her occasional slightly erotic comments on the peasant farmers she meets and her frequent veiled illusions to her past disastrous love life (which she drowned in chocolate bars) are really awkward and distracting
November 29, 2025
I am drawn to food as a topic, so this naturally caught my eye. Unfortunately, Simran Sethi ruined the book.
First of all, Sethi injected personal memoir tidbits as if I cared. Given how food is such a big part of culture and family life, there is always room for personal stories if done well. Sethi's were not done well. Her tidbits were primarily whiny notes about how chocolate "got her through" breakups, she has never been a beer fan until she finally got this exposure, and how she wore sweatpants to meet with some of her interviewees because she was running late and forgot to pack professional clothing.
Secondly, Sethi embodies the insufferable foodie ethic. They ALWAYS prescribe the same solutions: we should all care more and spend more money to make sure that things are done "right." I'm quite sorry, but I live in this tender class I like to call poverty-adjacent, and it is SO out of touch to think that a) you will make others care, and b) that you can convince them to spend more money on food and groceries. It's hard because I DO care, but I don't know that I can triple my expenses just out of virtue signaling. Sethi is speaking from a place of naive privilege. And not only naive privilege, but some of the solutions she thinks of are things she is completely unwilling to do herself (!!!!). This is what I hate about the insufferable foodies - why don't YOU go grow gardens and attempt to feed many people, and then we'll talk? At one point, she describes how she broke out crying because the wheat farmers in India will grow their personal plots of wheat pesticide-free, but they grow pesticide wheat to sell. And "I'm a Punjabi girl" yet they are poisoning me?! Then she goes on to describe how glad she is to have a cushy office job. Talk about completely out of touch.
It's not just Sethi's personality - it's the writing style. It reminds me of chemistry labs, where my lab reports were expected to have 3-5 references. If any published paper even used the chemical name I needed, then it was fair game. That is how she approached the entire book. Interviews and research that were fluff. For instance, each chapter gave us an in-depth explanation of sensory mechanisms, because apparently I should know about the optic nerve, cones, and receptors in order to appreciate the visual properties of beer.
But these sensory explanations are soooo important, as each chapter has a pretentious guide on how to teach yourself to fully appreciate fine chocolate, coffee, bread, and beer. Don't forget that this will involve purchasing only the highest-quality products in order to perform the tasting.
There are food writers who can do these topics a lot better. I thought this would be a nice, condensed version, but it was done so poorly that I can't recommend it.
First of all, Sethi injected personal memoir tidbits as if I cared. Given how food is such a big part of culture and family life, there is always room for personal stories if done well. Sethi's were not done well. Her tidbits were primarily whiny notes about how chocolate "got her through" breakups, she has never been a beer fan until she finally got this exposure, and how she wore sweatpants to meet with some of her interviewees because she was running late and forgot to pack professional clothing.
Secondly, Sethi embodies the insufferable foodie ethic. They ALWAYS prescribe the same solutions: we should all care more and spend more money to make sure that things are done "right." I'm quite sorry, but I live in this tender class I like to call poverty-adjacent, and it is SO out of touch to think that a) you will make others care, and b) that you can convince them to spend more money on food and groceries. It's hard because I DO care, but I don't know that I can triple my expenses just out of virtue signaling. Sethi is speaking from a place of naive privilege. And not only naive privilege, but some of the solutions she thinks of are things she is completely unwilling to do herself (!!!!). This is what I hate about the insufferable foodies - why don't YOU go grow gardens and attempt to feed many people, and then we'll talk? At one point, she describes how she broke out crying because the wheat farmers in India will grow their personal plots of wheat pesticide-free, but they grow pesticide wheat to sell. And "I'm a Punjabi girl" yet they are poisoning me?! Then she goes on to describe how glad she is to have a cushy office job. Talk about completely out of touch.
It's not just Sethi's personality - it's the writing style. It reminds me of chemistry labs, where my lab reports were expected to have 3-5 references. If any published paper even used the chemical name I needed, then it was fair game. That is how she approached the entire book. Interviews and research that were fluff. For instance, each chapter gave us an in-depth explanation of sensory mechanisms, because apparently I should know about the optic nerve, cones, and receptors in order to appreciate the visual properties of beer.
But these sensory explanations are soooo important, as each chapter has a pretentious guide on how to teach yourself to fully appreciate fine chocolate, coffee, bread, and beer. Don't forget that this will involve purchasing only the highest-quality products in order to perform the tasting.
There are food writers who can do these topics a lot better. I thought this would be a nice, condensed version, but it was done so poorly that I can't recommend it.
May 6, 2019
At first, I didn't understand why people are turned off by Simran's writing. I mean, she's writing about her experiences in her research and travels. Not sure how else one communicates personal experiences without being self-referential. This part, she did well. In fact, she writes very well, even though she can is verbose at times with a touch too much flourish. She dances on Max Lucado territory here or there. The first few topics are quite captivating, but then moving into the coffee and chocolate sections and it is like a totally different book. Which might be what others are turned off by. It feels as though she didn't have much time for coffee and chocolate and had to fill these chapters with fluff. Or, maybe the book took so long to write that she lost the voice (or found it - depending on when things were written).
My biggest gripe is her lowkey feminism drops and political innuendos. She has every right to write what she wants, but I don't care about her being a feminist or what her political views are. If you want to share these, write a book about it. Ha! But seriously, I'm reading
Bread, Wine, Chocolate: The Slow Loss of Foods We Love because it's supposed to be about food not a platform for your political beliefs.
Even though I like Simran's writing, this book is not titled properly. The theme gets lost in her experiences. This book is more about appreciating food and appreciating where our food comes from. A more apt title: Bread, Wine, Chocolate: Savor, Passion, and oh yeah, Sustainability
My biggest takeaways from Bread, Wine, Chocolate: The Slow Loss of Foods We Love:
1. Try new things as often as I can - food and experiences.
2. Be more conscience about what I'm eating. When practical: buy local, buy from producers who are passionate about what they deliver.
3. Savor every bite, every sip - especially when splurging.
4. Our food chain is not sustainable. Sadly, this isn't discussed much in the book. The last chapter does address this, but it's more of an afterthought.
All in all, I enjoyed about 1/2 of this book.
My biggest gripe is her lowkey feminism drops and political innuendos. She has every right to write what she wants, but I don't care about her being a feminist or what her political views are. If you want to share these, write a book about it. Ha! But seriously, I'm reading
Bread, Wine, Chocolate: The Slow Loss of Foods We Love because it's supposed to be about food not a platform for your political beliefs.
Even though I like Simran's writing, this book is not titled properly. The theme gets lost in her experiences. This book is more about appreciating food and appreciating where our food comes from. A more apt title: Bread, Wine, Chocolate: Savor, Passion, and oh yeah, Sustainability
My biggest takeaways from Bread, Wine, Chocolate: The Slow Loss of Foods We Love:
1. Try new things as often as I can - food and experiences.
2. Be more conscience about what I'm eating. When practical: buy local, buy from producers who are passionate about what they deliver.
3. Savor every bite, every sip - especially when splurging.
4. Our food chain is not sustainable. Sadly, this isn't discussed much in the book. The last chapter does address this, but it's more of an afterthought.
All in all, I enjoyed about 1/2 of this book.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 148 reviews