new food books!
Deeply Rooted: Unconventional Farmers in the Age of Agribusiness
by Lisa Hamilton, published by Counterpoint, www.counterpointpress.com.
“The food revolution taking place in this country cannot be truly successful without an agricultural revolution. We must inspire our farmers and create millions more of them. The extraordinary farmers Lisa Hamilton profiles in Deeply Rooted embody the future of American agriculture.”
— Alice Waters
“In a time when agribusiness and the global economy are making the rules, and when most people of the land are striving to be obedient, these people have had the courage to use their own intelligence in their own places. They have been appropriately rewarded for their independence, and readers of this book will be rewarded also. As for me, when I read of the Podoll family's thinking about local adaptation and their effort 'to get the maximum from the minimum,' I wanted to stand up and shout.“
— from a letter to the author by Wendell Berry
A century of industrialization has left our food system riddled with problems, yet for solutions we look to nutritionists and government agencies, scientists and chefs. Lisa M. Hamilton asks: why not look to the people who grow our food?
A Nation of Farmers
by Sharon Astyk and Aaron Newton (New Society, 2009)
This dynamic book explores the limits and dangers of our globalized and industrialized food system, and argues that the food crisis is a direct result of our current food system. The book provides guidelines to keep us from that dark future, by bringing more and more ordinary people to the table, and helping them take their place in the most basic of human projects - self-provisioning. The authors argue that not just our need for food, but our hope of a democratic society rests on the transformation of our agriculture and our dinner plates.
