Warsaw Under Construction 18: Sitopia: How Food Can Save the World. A Lecture by Carolyn Steel

We live in a world shaped by food: a place I call sitopia  (from Gk. sitos, food + topos, place). Whether or not we see it, food’s influence is everywhere: in our bodies, habits, homes, cities, landscapes, economics, politics and climate. Yet by forgetting to value food, we have created a bad sitopia: climate change, deforestation, soil erosion, water depletion, pollution, mass extinction, pandemics and diet-related disease are just some of the externalities of the way we now eat. Our lives are built on the illusion of cheap food, yet no such thing exists. Only by revaluing food and harnessing its power for good can we hope to thrive on our crowded, overheating planet. Although sitopia is not utopia, consciously reshaping our world through food is our most direct route to creating a healthier, fairer and more resilient future.