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More copies of this ISBNA Nation of Farmers: Defeating the Food Crisis on American Soilby Sharon Astyk
Synopses & ReviewsPublisher Comments:Once we could fill our grocery carts with cheap and plentiful food, but not anymore. Cheap food has gone the way of cheap oil. Climate change is already reducing crop yields worldwide. The cost of flying in food from far away and shipping it across the country in refrigerated trucks is rapidly becoming unviable. Cars and cows increasingly devour grain harvests, sending prices skyrocketing. More Americans than ever before require food stamps and food pantries just to get by, and a worldwide food crisis is unfolding, overseas and in our kitchens. We can keep hunger from stalking our families, but doing so will require a fundamental shift in our approach to field and table. A Nation of Farmersexamines the limits and dangers of the globalized food system and shows how returning to the basics is our best hope. The book includes in-depth guidelines for:
The book argues that we need to make self-provisioning, once the most ordinary of human activities, central to our lives. The results will be better food, better health, better security, and freedom from corporations that don’t have our interests at heart. This is critical reading for anyone who eats and cares about high-quality food. Sharon Astykfarms in New York, and is the author of Depletion and Abundance. Aaron Newtonis a sustainable systems land planner in North Carolina, and is the founding editor of Groovy Green. Review:"Astyk (Depletion and Abundance) and Newton, both farmers and activists, think it's a 'Big Lie' to argue that Americans aren't ready for 'real and deep and radical change in our way of living.' Now, they insist, is the perfect time for a nation of producers fulfilling 'real needs rather than abstracted wants.' With links to global warming and coming energy shortages (they also subscribe to the Peak Oil theory), the food crisis they foresee demands a shift from industrial farming to sustainable agriculture, from a supermarket and fast-food mentality to a 'locavore' approach, and from an American diet dominated by meat to one rich in whole grains, potatoes, legumes, roots and vegetables. They finger factory farming as a major source of ecological damage and global economic disparity, likening the industry to Soviet collectives. The authors' radical plan calls for 50 to 100 million Americans to become subsistence farmers working their own small plots, resulting in 200 million relying solely on organic food grown nearby, and huge savings in resources and health care. Naturally, this is a decidedly Utopian vision with long odds against it, but Astyk and Newton offer a solid, thought-provoking challenge to conventional wisdom about Americans' lifestyle and capacity for change." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.) Book News Annotation:Astyk in rural New York and Newton in North Carolina are both
involved with Community Supported Agriculture, among other endeavors.
They write for people who do not believe there is a food crisis, for
people who admit that there might be but figure that the solution
requires famous people to do something big, for people who accept the
problem and are eager to help but need some suggestion and
encouragement, and for people who would rather read about how to save
the world than actually do anything about it (there is no way to
exclude them). Quotations, interviews, personal narratives, rhetoric,
and recipes are among the means they use. Distributed in the US by
Consortium Books Sales and Distribution.
Annotation ©2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) Synopsis:The new food security - look no further than your own backyard. What Our Readers Are SayingBe the first to add a comment for a chance to win!Product Details
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