Bill Gates’ favorite author has a new book, and the billionaire says “it will teach you a lot” about food.
Specifically, how eliminating food waste and reducing global food insecurity could make food cheaper for everyone. Vaclav Smil’s “How to Feed the World,” which was published on Tuesday, “will transform the way you think about hunger, food, and what we eat (and don’t),” Gates wrote in an Instagram post on Wednesday.
Smil, a Czech-Canadian professor emeritus at the University of Manitoba, has written more than 40 books on a range of topics like technological innovation, energy, public policy and population growth. Gates is a “devoted reader” of the academic’s entire catalogue, reading “nearly all” of Smil’s published works, he wrote in a blog post published Tuesday.
“The truth is, I’d read just about any topic he found interesting and wanted to dissect,” Gates wrote in 2017, adding: “I wait for new Smil books the way some people wait for the next ‘Star Wars’ movie.”
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Ending world hunger is a central focus for the Gates Foundation, and Smil’s newest book turns “conventional wisdom on its head” by using data to reframe the problem, Gates noted in his recent blog post.
The world produces roughly 3,000 calories-worth of food per person per day, which is “more than enough to feed everyone,” Gates wrote. The problem is how food is distributed, with rampant inefficiencies in the supply chain resulting in massive amounts of food waste: Roughly one-third of food ends up unconsumed, according to the United Nations.
The inefficiencies also increase costs for producers and retailers, resulting in higher prices for shoppers around the world. Reducing food waste can take pressure off of the global food supply, making food more accessible and more affordable for everyone, according to Smil.
Other researchers agree. Roughly $600 billion worth of food is lost during or following its harvest annually, according to a 2022 report from consulting firm McKinsey. And food waste of all kinds leads to lost revenue for retailers and inflated consumer prices, found a 2024 Pacific Coast Collaborative report.
Smil’s book offers some potential solutions, including improvements to food storage, packing, supply chains and pricing models. One of Gates’ favorites, he wrote: CRISPR gene editing, which could theoretically develop more resilient crops that better withstand the effects of climate change.
“Like all of Vaclav’s best books, it challenges readers to think differently about a problem we thought we understood,” Gates wrote, adding: “We also need to ensure that food is more accessible and affordable, less wasted, and just as nutritious as it is abundant.”
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