In Regenesis, George Monbiot details how the modern global food system is not only creating the conditions for its own collapse, but undermining the entire fabric of the living world. Many books on 'food sustainability' have sounded the alarm. What's different in Regenesis is its refusal to indulge in comforting myths about how to fix it, instead revealing how such myths – chief amongst them the notion that animal farming can be 'regenerative' – are instead driving and perpetuating its multitude of environmental harms. Perhaps the book's most vital plea is for us to relinquish those myths and embrace 'food numeracy' as the prerequisite for a genuinely regenerative food future.

Regenesis spans around two-hundred pages, with another hundred of notes and references, making it a substantial and fact-filled read. But it's not a slog, partly thanks to George's talent for bringing facts to life (the opening chapter on soil makes this most unpromising of subjects captivating) – but also because only two of its eight main chapters focus on what's gone wrong. The rest are dedicated to solutions. Real ones. 

Understanding the problem is nonetheless essential and, after the ode to soil in chapter one, chapters two and three lay the situation bare. Exploring the trend towards an increasingly 'Global Standard Diet', which is both a driver and result of the 'Global Standard Farm' and its profiteers, chapter two reveals just how brittle the global food system has become, the pace at which we are approaching tipping points, and the ecological and social consequences that are already playing out. Add to this the impacts of the climate crisis, and a stark picture emerges of ever-increasing systemic fragility and inequality. 

Chapter three, Agricultural Sprawl, is perhaps the most confronting. Opening with 'the engrossing issue of excrement', George sets out the enormity of destruction and pollution caused by the global appetite for animal products – of which the richest people and nations consume the most, with intakes rising in tandem with incomes. Learning of the ecological devastation wrought by intensive and extensive animal agriculture alike, we are left with no doubt: there is no prospect of maintaining a liveable planet, let alone attaining food justice, without making fundamental changes in both food production and consumption.  

This is where the solutions come in. George starts by naming the most obvious one: voluntary diet change. We could, in theory, all eat a plant-based diet (a seminal study by Poore & Nemecek cited in the book found this would slash food's land use by three-quarters and halve its greenhouse gas emissions, among other benefits). However, he is keenly aware that veganism remains niche and that, 'without deliberate policies to encourage it, the current drift away from meat-eating in a few small corners of the world offers no realistic prospect, in the first half of this century, of rolling back livestock farming.' 

With that in mind, the following chapters instead focus on supply-side measures: changing both the 'what' and the 'how' of food production. The picture here is hopeful. Be it perennial crop varieties that obviate the need for destructive ploughing, horticulture techniques that work with, not against, nature, or the fascinating science that enables us to 'ferment' proteins and fats – effectively creating food from thin air – we already have the ingredients at hand for a healthy and just food system transformation that aligns with the flourishing of all life. 

Deploying them at the required scale is another matter. George goes so far as to quote Machiavelli when noting just how hard it is to change an entrenched status quo. And sure enough, from the moment of the book's release, he's reported facing more backlash for speaking out on ravages of animal agriculture than any other topic he's covered – and, given his dedication to revealing truths that powerful actors want to keep hidden, that is surely a high bar. 

Hopefully, this fact alone is incentive enough for the curious-minded to engage with what he has to say. For anyone with an existing concern about food sustainability, it is essential reading. And if you have even the most passing interest in soil science, you're in for a treat: Regenesis is guaranteed to have you transfixed and filled with a new admiration for this all-too-rare discipline. 

And what about those of us already engaged in advocating for a transition away from farming and eating animals? Since Regenesis set out its manifesto for systemic change in 2022, there has been an increasingly concerted and forceful industry pushback working overtime to defend animal agribusiness, undeniably with some success. After a surge of early media and investor enthusiasm, there's been a cooling of interest and support for plant-based substitutes, with a number of startup closures. Legislative bans on the use of terms like 'milk' and 'sausage' for animal-free versions continue to be attempted, successfully in some cases, and alternative proteins are increasingly being recast as 'complementary', clearly watering down the imperative for dietary shift. With culture-warmongering and greenwashing reaching new extremes, Brandolini's law is in full force. Exhausting and sometimes disheartening, yes. But serious activists know that setbacks are inevitable – indeed a sign of progress as we advance into the 'then they fight you' phase – and bold steps are underway to separate fact from fiction, expose the industry's tactics and continue forging ahead with solutions at every level from local to global.

For our collapse-aware friends, a closing thought. 

It's true that we are up to the wire: action was needed in proportion to the unfolding climate and ecological catastrophe in every decade since it began. Instead, Molochian forces (actively driven by the animal industrial complex) have marched us steadily closer to the cliff-edge, over which we are already hurling the most vulnerable and innocent humans, as well as the irreplaceable non-human species with whom we co-evolved. Even the tentative hopes George allowed himself in Regenesis may ring unconvincing as the metacrisis escalates. And yet, at least for me, there is a 'yes, and' that makes it feel worthwhile to keep at it, even if we are ultimately destined to lose the fight for the planet – and that is the counterfactual of every single sentient being who, thanks to our efforts, is not bred and born into a life of commodification and the mechanised horror of the slaughterhouse.

– Review written by Cat

This Nov 2022 talk by Monbiot is a great way to get an overview into many of the book's themes. It also stars a feline guest :)