Louise O. Fresco

Professor Louise O. Fresco (b. 1952) is a writer, researcher and columnist for NRC Handelsblad. Among other works, she has written Hamburgers in Paradise (Princeton University Press, 2015; Laffont, 2015) and the novels The Cosmpolitans, The Utopians and The Idealists. During her long career, she has been Chairman of the Executive Board at Wageningen University & Research and the Director of Research at the Agriculture Department of the UN’s FAO, which leads international efforts to defeat hunger. In 2022, she was appointed Commander in the Order of the Netherlands in recognition of her social commitment.

The Utopians

(Prometheus, 2007, 350 pages)

How can you be principled when in power? This novel of ideas is about corruption. Michiel van Straten, an environmental activist, has been appointed Minister for Technology and the Environment. He enjoys his new role, but the novel gradually reveals how he is struggling.

Hamburgers in Paradise

Food in a time of scarcity and abundance

(Prometheus, 2012, 540 pages)

What is on our plate? Vegetables, meat or fish? Organic food, slow or fast food, vegetarian, vegan or omnivore fare? Although we may not often stop to think about it, we are inextricably linked to the planet on which we live by our need to eat to survive. This makes the issues involved all the more complicated. In Hamburgers in Paradise, Louise Fresco serves up that complexity as a menu that invites us to sample history and culture, science and politics.

Our Food

A Life-long Story

(Prometheus, 2023, 304 pages)

Louise O. Fresco is one of the Netherlands’ most influential voices when it comes to food and agriculture. Her prolific career – as a thinker, scientist, advisor and writer – has taken her around the globe, much of it to help answer the question of how to feed a growing population. In Our Food she describes how her thinking has changed, combining nuanced reflections on many of today’s most pressing questions with colourful memories from a life dedicated to the fascinating world of food.