“It’s the End of the World as We Know it” and I feel Hungry: Food in Dystopian and Utopian Fictional Futures

In dystopian fantasy fiction and the more recent subgenre of hopepunk, representations of food—growing and scavenging it, preparing and eating it—reveal distinct but evolving perspectives on the collapse of human societies facing environmental, political, and economic disasters. As we examine these bodies of literature, contrasts abound. There is never enough food in dystopian fantasy. What is available is bland, repetitive, and dubiously nutritious. Trauma around food is ongoing. Scavenging hig