Introduction disease – stem from our failure to value food.Yet, as this book will argue, by valuing food once again, we can use it as a positive force, not only to address such threats and reverse numerous ills, but to build fairer, more resilient societies and lead happier, healthier lives. Like Hungry City, Sitopia is arranged in seven chapters representing a food-based journey, in this case starting with a plate of food and travelling out to the universe. The story begins with food itself, moving out to the body, the home, society, city and country, nature and time. At each stage – or scale – of this journey I use food as a lens to explore the origins and dilemmas of our current situation and to ask how we can improve it. Food lies at the heart of sitopia, yet this book is not primarily about food; rather it explores how food can help us to address our many quandaries in a connected and positive way. We can’t live in utopia, but by thinking and acting through food – by joining forces to build a better sitopia – we can come surprisingly close.
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