At a time when welfare cuts and austerity measures have resulted in an estimated 1 million people being dependent on food banks, Josh Sutton’s original history of food riots is both timely and fascinating. The right to fight for affordable food is a largely forgotten tradition, argues Sutton, “an overlooked continuum of struggle dating back hundreds of years”. Indeed, he traces its origins back to the enclosure of common land beginning in the 15th century that left a “slow burning disdain” among ordinary people. This exploded in riots: in the 200 years before 1820 there were more than 700 food riots in England. They “paved the way for the creation of the welfare state”. This tradition has morphed into the “food fight” popular campaigns waged through social media against the practices of multinational food companies and giant supermarket chains. In this passionately argued book, Sutton claims that the level of poverty today means we may see food riots again: “We need to rethink our food systems.”
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