Description
Every day, no matter where we are or where we need to go, humans need food.
Imagine carrying meals with you as you parachute into a war zone. Or trying to stay well fed while building the pyramids. People have always found ways to work together to put a meal on the table. What Do We Eat? is a delicious celebration of human creativity and cooperation, wrapped up in bite-sized slices of history, with a look at what scientists and inventors are cooking for the future. We are gobbling up Earth’s resources, and food is not shared equally. But today there's a magic tree transforming the dry African plains, food “ambulances” on the move and cities that have declared access to food a human right. Hungry to find out more? Let’s roll up our sleeves and find out what’s for dinner.
The epub edition of this title is fully accessible.
Author Bio
Megan Clendenan enjoys learning about how people ate throughout history and hopes that the foods of the future will be more sustainable and just. She is the author of Cities: How Humans Live Together and the Green Earth Award winner Fresh Air, Clean Water: Our Right to a Healthy Environment. She is a co-author of Design Like Nature: Biomimicry for a Healthy Planet, part of the Orca Footprints series. Megan lives near Vancouver, British Columbia, with her family, where she likes growing vegetables in her backyard.
Meegan Lim is an illustrator and arts facilitator striving to nurture community growth and healing through visual arts. She holds a bachelor of design and illustration from OCAD University. Her work primarily focuses on the intersections of food and cultural identity, manifesting through detailed gouache illustrations, digital paintings and risograph zines. Her illustrations have been featured in Chatelaine, Eater, Broken Pencil Magazine and the books What We Talk About When We Talk About Dumplings and What Do We Eat?. Meegan lives in Brampton, Ontario.
Prizes
- Children's Book Council Teacher Favorites Award 6th - 8th GradeCommended 2025
- Children's Book Council Librarian Favorites Award 6th - 8th GradeCommended 2025
- CCBC Best Books for Kids & TeensCommended 2025
- The Nature Generation Green Earth Book Award (GEBA) - Recommended ReadingCommended 2025
- BC Books for SchoolsCommended 2025
Review Quotes
“This richly layered children’s nonfiction book serves up an irresistible buffet of stories about how humans have found, grown, transported and shared food across centuries and continents. It reads like a culinary adventure mixed with history, science and culture — the kind of book that makes kids hungry for both dinner and knowledge...The book encourages curiosity and problem-solving. Kids come away thinking differently about what lands on their plates and why it matters.”
— Canadian Cookbooks“Cheerful, informative…charming illustrations, pithy chapter headings, and dynamic design. A browsable nonfiction work on an intriguing subject with many curricular tie-ins.”
— School Library Journal (SLJ)“Author Megan Clendenan uses humour and word play to engage her readers in the serious topics of climate change, food waste, and equitable food access...Clendenan and Lim have combined to create an informative book that will engage young readers. What Do We Eat? may even inspire some young readers to ask some important questions about sustainability and accessibility of our current and future food supplies. Highly recommended.”
— CM: Canadian Review of Materials“The author leaves her readers to consider wasting less, being more efficient with what we already have and seriously seeking different food sources that have been little explored... A concentrated effort to learn more and do more can start by reading books like this one.”
— Sal's Fiction Addiction“Offers a glimpse into the ubiquitous human need for food and how it has shaped pivotal moments in history, scientific innovation, and community life…Educators will find this book useful for sparking cross-curricular inquiry on topics with global relevance, while students will gain fresh perspectives and appreciation for what ends up on their plate.”
— BC Books for Schools“Spotlights a great array of food-related topics. The visuals—a mix of color photos and Lim’s illustrations—underscore the worldwide diversity of both kinds of foodstuffs and of those humans who consume them. Useful for raising awareness of a topic of great and growing concern.”
— Kirkus Reviews“Appealing and engaging…Reveals how the act of sharing food and eating together promotes well-being and a greater sense of cooperation and community…Useful information for students interested in environmental activism or in STEM topics.”
— BooklistBiographical note
Megan Clendenan enjoys learning about how people ate throughout history and hopes that the foods of the future will be more sustainable and just. She is the author of Cities: How Humans Live Together and the Green Earth Award winner Fresh Air, Clean Water: Our Right to a Healthy Environment. She is a co-author of Design Like Nature: Biomimicry for a Healthy Planet, part of the Orca Footprints series. Megan lives near Vancouver, British Columbia, with her family, where she likes growing vegetables in her backyard.
Meegan Lim is an illustrator and arts facilitator striving to nurture community growth and healing through visual arts. She holds a bachelor of design and illustration from OCAD University. Her work primarily focuses on the intersections of food and cultural identity, manifesting through detailed gouache illustrations, digital paintings and risograph zines. Her illustrations have been featured in Chatelaine, Eater, Broken Pencil Magazine and the book What We Talk About When We Talk About Dumplings. Meegan lives in Brampton, Ontario.
