The food stories behind your favourite fruits and vegetables.

Have you ever wondered who picked your Fairtrade banana? Or why we can buy British strawberries in April? How far do you think your green beans travelled to get to your plate? And where do all the wonky carrots go? Above all, how do we stop worrying about our food choices and start making decisions that make a difference?

In an effort to make sense of the complex food system we are all part of, Louise Gray decides to track the stories of our five-a-day from farm to fruit bowl, and discover the impact that growing fruits and vegetables has on the planet.

Through visits to farms, interviews with scientists and trying to grow her own, she digs up the dirt behind organic potatoes, greenhouse tomatoes and a glut of courgettes.

In each chapter, Louise answers a question about a familiar item in our shopping basket. Is plant protein as good as meat? Is foraged food more nutritious? Could bees be the answer to using fewer chemicals? How do we save genetic diversity in our apples? Are digital apps the key to reducing food waste? Is gardening good for mental health? And is the symbol of clean eating, the avocado, fuelling the climate crisis?

As pressure grows via social media to post pictures of food that ticks all the boxes in terms of health and the environment, these food stories from the author of the award-winning The Ethical Carnivore are also a personal story of motherhood and the realisation that nothing is ever perfect.

Intro
Half Title
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Contents
Prologue: Roots
Chapter 1: Old Beans
Further reading
Hummus in homage to 115 Egerton Road
Chapter 2: Bananageddon
Further reading
Pandemic banana bread
Chapter 3: The Valuable Esculent
Further reading
Crispy potato 'worms'
Chapter 4: Miciri
Further reading
Mukimo
Chapter 5: Humblebees
Further reading
Honey-roast tomatoes on toast
Chapter 6: Nightingale Farm
Further reading
Hedgerow salad
Chapter 7: The Taste of Summer
Further reading Seasonal fruit chaat
Chapter 8: The Space Zucchini
Further reading
Guerrilla courgettes
Chapter 9: Magic Berries
Further reading
Witchy rosehip and blackberry syrup
Chapter 10: The Orchard
Further reading
After-dinner apple diversity appreciation
Chapter 11: Perfectly Imperfect
Further reading
'Circular' wartime carrot biscuits
Chapter 12: Avocado Anxiety
Further reading
Ecovado (smashed broad beans) on toast
Epilogue: Seeds
Acknowledgements
Permissions
Index