Utterly Fascinating Parallels Between History Of Cold Food Tech And AI. This is the book I was reading on my walks in May 2026, and it was truly utterly fascinating to see the parallels between the history of cold food storage and transportation technology – a history of basically the past 150 yrs in particular, though Twilley does indeed also cover how food was cooled and stored before that period as well – and that of the current history-in-the-making of AI technology. One thing that stood out in particular was just how much more power is used for cold food storage and transportation than AI uses – a fact that actually checks out upon an independent deep dive. Another was the rapidity of societal change from “this new tech is harmful” to “this new tech is essential” – Twilley speaking directly of refrigeration of food, yet seemingly *also* speaking to the near future history of AI.
But the history and its parallels aren’t the only details that were fascinating to learn. Twilley covers seemingly everything about the topic, including how foods are kept fresh in grocery stores – and bleeding edge research to extend this in a variety of ways for a variety of foods – but also how the entire concept of cold food storage and transportation is being developed in rising areas such as China and Africa, and the challenges of bringing both regions to the levels that Americans and Western Europeans have now taken for granted for generations.
Overall a truly astounding text full of information that will illuminate several areas of your life that you hadn’t previously considered – likely even if you work in HVAC or (as in my case) have family and friends that do. One that has direct bearing on so many conversations in the zeitgeist of late, including not just AI but also GMO foods, power generation tech, and even cooling technology more generally. Indeed, in questioning whether cooling is an actual net positive for humanity (it is, but Twilley points out some areas where it is genuinely changing us and explores ways these changes may be mitigated), Twilley actually actively adds to even the very conversations she is covering within this text.
Absolutely one book that so very many should read, particularly those that pontificate about certain issues without having any clue about how very small those ant hills are in relation to the hills and indeed mountains of food chilled and refrigerated and the technology – and its power and resource consumption – that enables said mountains to exist at all.
Oh, and one note: As I read the Audible form of this book and this was not an Advance Review Copy, I do not have access to depth of bibliography information. This text would absolutely have the Sagan Standard applied though, so I do hope that the text forms of this book have at *least* 20% bibliography – I just don’t have access to that information as I write this review, and because of the format I consumed the book in, it did not bear on my actual experience with the text.
Very much recommended.
This review of Frostbite by Nicola Twilley was originally written on June 1, 2026.
