A Taste for Change: The Ecological Transition as a Way to Happiness

by Gaël Giraud, Carlo Petrini, Stefano Arduini, Carla Ranicki (Translator), Pope Francis (Foreword by)

Overview

A new paradigm for developing a sustainable solution for the economy and the food chain

A Taste for Change argues that civil society must take the initiative to create a new paradigm of existence that centers on the common good, ecological transition, and active involvement in the development of a sustainable solution for the economy and the food chain. Giraud and Petrini engage with the revolutionary concepts captured in Pope Francis's recent encyclicals centering on the Earth-based spirituality of Saint Francis of Assisi. This deep exploration of surrounding food systems, indigenous wisdom, economic structures, and politics is based on the premise that the ecological transition urgently needs to be accelerated to avoid the most dramatic consequences of the climate crisis.

Academics, students, and activists from a wide array of disciplines will find A Taste for Change a dialogue worthy of careful consideration and an inspiring call to action.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781647125950
Publisher:	Georgetown University Press
Publication date:	07/01/2025
Pages:	170
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.00(d)

About the Author

Gaël Giraud, SJ, is a senior researcher in economics at the French National Research Center and president of the Rousseau Institute. Carlo Petrini is the founder of the global Slow Food movement, the University of Gastronomic Sciences, and Terra Madre, a global network of more than two thousand food communities.

Table of Contents

Foreword
Introduction

Part I: The End of a World
1. We Can't Go On Like This
2. Too Much Food and Too Much Hunger
3. A Planet of Plastic
4. Economics of Suffering
5. Toxic Finance
6. The Failure of International Institutions

Part II: A New World
7. First Civil Society, Then Politics
8. Protectionism and Food Sovereignty
9. The Youth Revolution
10. Revolution at the Table
11. Community Economies

Part III: Towards a New Spirituality
12. The Happy Transition
13. People and Nature
14. Laudato si'

Conclusions
Notes
About the Authors

What People are Saying About This

Corby Kummer

A Taste for Change challenges all conventional wisdom with equal parts love and clarity, leaving the reader—particularly this one—renewed and recharged to help the planet survive and everyone on it to eat better.

Michael Dimock

Fueling the transition to a gender-balanced leadership that celebrates diversity, resilience, justice, and equity around food systems, this rich and engrossing dialogue will inspire the generations ascending to political, economic, and cultural power.

Alice Waters

A Taste for Change is a remarkable book about the urgency to address climate change. It has inspired me to believe that the procurement of all food in schools could be the economic engine for supporting local, organic, regenerative farmers and ranchers. I call this school-supported agriculture, and it could not only mitigate climate and health crises immediately but also rebuild communities around the world.