Unnaturally Delicious

As populations around the planet grow, access to healthy food and water has become a pressing issue within the agricultural industry. With obesity rates on the rise, evolving climate change worries, and the debate around the ethics of GMOs, to name just a few, the outlook can feel grim.

But renowned food and agricultural economist Jayson Lusk is challenging that negative outlook in his latest book, Unnaturally Delicious: How Science and Technology are Serving Up Super Foods to Save the World. The book posits that a marriage of agriculture and technology can save the day with forward-thinking solutions for a sustainable food supply. Lusk, a Distinguished Professor and Head of the Agricultural Economics Department at Purdue University, focuses on the scientists, entrepreneurs, and progressive farmers who are leading the way.

The book starts with a reminder that American icons like Thomas Jefferson, George Washington Carver, and John Harvey Kellog were all once considered innovators who brought modern farming to the world. It then turns to today, with a look at stories like the ex-farmer-turned-entrepreneur who developed software that helps farmers increase yields and boost nutrition, or the team of scientists who have found a way to grow meat in a lab, or the college students who are fighting obesity with healthy bacteria. Unnaturally Delicious even takes a look at the unlikely technology of edible 3D printing.

With more nearly two decades of expertise under his belt, Lusk provides hopeful insights into what tomorrow’s food supply may look like as science and technology continue to work toward a healthier, more bountiful world.