Farmbrarian

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“Local is the new organic,” is a phrase I’ve heard a lot lately. Does it mean that organic is no longer needed, or that the two are mutually exclusive? Maria Rodale makes her declaration that not only is organic still relevant, but it is actually more important than local.

The book builds a case for worldwide organic farming, which includes lengthy history and condemnation of chemical companies like DuPont, Bayer and of course Monsanto. Aside from an interesting description of an insecticide manufacturer employing Dr. Seuss before he became famous, there isn’t much new information here. Those unfamiliar with the general exploits of these chemical companies will certainly find it compelling and frightening, however.

Rodale likes the movement towards local food production, it is just that she likes organic production better. This means supporting what Michael Pollan would call “Big Organic,” meaning large scale organic farms, the recently criticized Whole Foods, and even (gasp) Wal-Mart, who has attempted to improve food sourcing by beginning to work with smaller farms and of course offering organic foods. Also, she says, smaller farms operating organically should seek USDA certification, mainly to bolster the movement (more certified organic farms means better awareness and eventually maybe even a tipping point). Examined at length are hurdles in place that impede farmers from going organic and/or getting certified.

My favorite parts of this manifesto include: a good look at the much maligned Farm Bill, her useful “five solutions that might save us”, and a worthwhile defense of Whole Foods (CEO John Mackey says “It’s like I’ve been out in the wilderness hacking away with a machete for 30 years – and they drive up in an SUV and say, ‘Is this as far as you’ve gotten?’ Get out of the car and help me build the road!” (129)). Yes, this book actually offers solutions, which are notably missing from other similar books. These include actionable items for consumers, farmers, businesses, government officials (and therefore voters) and even economists. The proposals are useful, and if heeded, will make a difference.

A review copy of this book was generously provided by Rodale.

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Ever since Frances Moore Lappe’s 1971 book Diet For a Small Planet, many have accepted as near fact that a vegetarian or vegan diet is the most environmentally friendly way to dine. Lierre Keith, author of The Vegetarian Myth: Food, Justice and Sustainability (2009), begs to differ. “Frances Moore Lappe says it takes twelve to sixteen pounds of grain to make one pound of beef. Meanwhile [farmer Joel] Salatin raises cattle with no grain at all, rotating ruminants on perennial polycultures, building topsoil year by year,” Keith states (5).

The author explains that our current model of industrial farming is unsustainable, but so is vegetarianism. Plants, she says, require the input of animals in some form (manure, blood and bones) or fossil fuel (ancient and finite organisms). Without some form of fertilizer, they won’t grow. Grains are generally the basis of a vegetarian diet and are most often grown in an ecosystem-destroying monoculture. Plus, people haven’t necessarily evolved to eat grains.

Keith was vegan for 20 years, believing of course that it was the healthiest option for herself and her beloved earth. Today she preaches about the dangers of such a lifestyle and discusses the health problems she experienced as a result. It is important to note that her main condemnation of vegetarian and vegan diets is on the basis of sustainability. Vegetarians can certainly lead healthy lives, but the author would prefer we eat as nature intended. For example, a cow grazes on grass inedible to humans then we eat the cow or drink her milk. Grass will not grow indefinitely on the pasture without animals. A system void of animals will in fact become no system at all in a short period of time.

Also included in the book is a deep condemnation of agriculture itself. She argues that humans were healthier as hunter-gatherers; a sentiment shared by others. When possible, and even when inappropriate, Keith makes clear her status as a feminist. The book would flow better without these odd interruptions. Conspicuously absent is any concrete recommendation on how we, a world of more than 6 billion, should acquire food given today’s circumstances.

On the whole, The Vegetarian Myth is a good read for anyone seeking answers on personal health and environmental sustainability. The arguments are persuasive, and for the most part, well rooted in biology. Keith shows courage by writing the book because her ideas, though not conventional in their wisdom, ring quite true.

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“We need to fence the range, even in the wildest and remotest parts of the ocean. And we should not weep for the death of the cowboy” (327).

Author Charles Clover refers to fishermen as cowboys in this analogy lifted from his book The End of the Line: How Overfishing Is Changing the World and What We Eat (2008). Clover explains that overfishing is an urgent concern worldwide, and action can no longer be delayed no matter who will be affected. Ultimately, if appropriate steps aren’t taken, the affects of overfishing will extend much further than just fishermen.

The book touches on nearly every aspect of fishing: fishing practices and technology, resistance to limiting catch, history, canned tuna, methods of action and more. The End of the Line will certainly change the habits of anyone who reads it. Those changes of habit, coupled with changes in law all around the world, are almost certainly necessary to avoid the collapse of many fishing stocks, similar to stocks that have already collapsed (ex: Atlantic Cod) and devastated more than just local ‘cowboys.’

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Anna Lappé carries on the family tradition by examining the effects of modern agriculture on our planet in her new book Diet For A Hot Planet: The Climate Crisis At the End of Your Fork and What You Can Do About It. Lappé aims to answer three primary questions: What affect does our diet have on global warming? Why are people ignoring agriculture’s contribution to greenhouse gas emissions? And finally, what should we do (or perhaps, eat)?

Lappé echoes her mother Frances Moore Lappé, author of Diet for a Small Planet (1971), by advocating for reduced consumption of meat and animal products. Included is a lengthy analysis of the greenhouse gas contributions of farm animals. Her arguments are persuasive, but ultimately I see a valid argument against animal factory farming—not animal foods in general.

Lappé looks at how the industrial food system affects climate change from start to finish. She first analyzes farming (including tilling, fertilizers, carbon sequestering, etc.); then moves on to transportation, storage, and processing; and finally discusses food waste (hint – landfills deserve real blame on this issue). All too often companies squirm their way out of culpability somewhere along the line. For example, as you’ll learn in the book, palm oil is in many processed food products; and major agribusinesses like Archer Daniels Midland have destroyed frightening amounts of rainforest (without anyone really knowing) to produce it.

In the interest of time, but to the detriment of her conclusions, Lappé often relies on limited supporting science, even when additional information exists. This is not to say her conclusions are wrong, but rather that nearly every topic covered could be examined in greater depth. For example, when countering a poorly supported claim that organic farming reduces yield, she relies on only two studies that assigned higher yields to organic farming when compared to conventional. Though I agree with her argument, more data would be useful for drawing significant conclusions.

Readers will walk away with an improved understanding of how food choices affect climate change, as well as with pre-formulated rebuttals to common arguments presented by doubters of wide scale organic, climate-friendly agriculture. Though it is no game changer, the book will certainly play a role as one piece of the puzzle in the movement towards sustainability in agriculture.

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The Viarsa, a fishing vessel registered in Uruguay but owned in Spain, has loaded up on illegally caught Patagonian toothfish (commonly called Chilean Sea Bass), and is now on the run. In pursuit is Southern Supporter, a Fisheries and Patrol vessel belonging to the Australian government. Unarmed and unsure how to proceed, Southern Supporter decides to pursue the chase. What results, is probably the longest pursuit on the high seas in history. At stake, ultimately, is the fate of our world’s oceans, which were once thought to be an endless source of food. Author G. Bruce Knecht articulates this incredible true story in his book Hooked: Pirates, Poaching and the Perfect Fish (2006).

The Southern Supporter’s actions, along with many others attempts to thwart illegal pirating, have helped shape the current international policy on protecting fisheries around the world.

While parts of the book read like fiction, the rest is an interesting and informative look at the state of global fishing stocks and what is being done to ensure the survival of endangered species and ecosystems. I started the book with the understanding that sustainable fishing is important. I didn’t realize, however, how important it truly is, and just how severely overfished many species and areas are. Perhaps most shocking though, is the regular consumer’s complete lack of understanding and general apathy about the fish on their plate and the fish remaining in the sea.

This is a message that absolutely must be heard, and author G. Bruce Knecht does his part with the enlightening and entertaining book Hooked.

Keep an eye out in April as we post two more reviews on books about sustainable fishing and the current state of the world’s fishing stocks.

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The monumental shift in agriculture from local food economies to food supplies driven by gross domestic product and corporate profit gave rise to the modern food movement. Many now understand the frightening implications for our own health and that of and our communities. Mostly, the topic is contemplated with a strictly western perspective, even though it is lesser developed countries who have suffered the most; a pattern that isn’t likely to change. One such country is India, and it was Indian author and environmentalist Vandana Shiva who provided new insight on the issue in her 2000 book Stolen Harvest: The Hijacking of the Global Food Supply.

India has traditionally been an agrarian culture. One in which farming is a common occupation, which is a far cry from the current American economy which aims to distance people from farming as much as possible. This lifestyle has obvious effects on Indian culture. For example, in India, the cow is considered sacred “because it is at the heart of the sustainability of an agrarian civilization.” (75) Furthermore, scattered across India are Chakki Wallas (local flour mills), which produce almost all the flour consumed. In fact, less than one percent of their flour is actually a brand name. (87)

Shiva explains the many ways companies like Monsanto (specifically accused) and organizations like the WTO (World Trade Organization) have deeply hurt India on a local community level. As an example she details Monsanto’s promotion of the Bollgard cotton seed, which is genetically engineered to defend itself against bollworm. While Monsanto’s marketing in India reported a 50% increase in yield, another evaluation found essentially the same yields as traditional seeds. (100) In addition, of course, farmers are legally prohibited from reusing seeds from Monsanto’s Bollgard cotton plant, despite the fact that seed-saving is as old as agriculture itself.

This book has certainly done its part to promote organic, sustainable farming, or what Indians call ahimsic krishi, which means “non-violent agriculture.” (119) Stolen Harvest delivers, in a small and readable package, an important, yet under-represented perspective on the current food system. I can only hope the world begins to hear the stories of this and other similarly vandalized cultures.

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Sandor Ellix Katz, author of Wild Fermentation, gives readers a thorough look at nearly every aspect of the modern food movement in his book The Revolution Will Not Be Microwaved: Inside America’s Underground Food Movements (2006). I can think of no better person to explain the push for sustainable farming, wholesome food and healthy communities than someone who lives as Katz does: as part of an independent, intentional community in Tennessee.

In addition to exemplifying the revolution everyday, Katz is an excellent writer. The book is full of well-articulated arguments in favor of much needed change. While I consider myself knowledgeable on many aspects of the food movement, I learned a lot from the book, including some things that were truly eye opening.

For example, the chapter “Seed Saving as a Political Act” details a clear American intent to destroy Iraq’s agricultural infrastructure. Katz explains, “An internal State Department document from February 2003, a month before the U.S. invasion…included seed and plant patents as part of the U.S. economic agenda in Iraq.” Sadly, the U.S. was very successful, and the invasion destroyed “almost all generations of all seeds of all crops.” In summation, Katz says, “It appears from these facts that an element of the U.S. military agenda is to disrupt agricultural self-sufficiency and create dependency on the high-tech global seed market, while imposing the legal framework to permanently disempower local farmers.” Discouraging and eye opening, indeed. (48)

Katz channels many resources for the book. He quotes authors like Wendell Berry, Frances Moore Lappé and Joel Salatin, and cites books like The Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening. In addition, personal stories and recipes are dispersed throughout. Though the book’s organization seems random, it still manages to read smoothly.

The book is unlikely to reach the mainstream audience tapped by authors like Michael Pollan, but that in no way diminishes its value to the movement. Readers interested in a lengthy look at topics like seed saving, vegetarian ethics (warning: he’s not vegetarian), Slow Food, land rights and water consumption will find a good source in The Revolution Will Not Be Microwaved.

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Michael Pollan, author of the wildly successful The Omnivore’s Dilemma, presents readers with simple rules of eating healthfully in his new book Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual. The mantra of his last book In Defense of Food (“Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.”) forms the backbone of the new book, which features a collection of sentence-long personal eating rules. For example, “If it came from a plant eat it; if it was made in a plant, don’t,” and “the whiter the bread, the sooner you’ll be dead.”

The book can be read in its entirety in less than an hour, which is certainly worth doing. Fans of Pollan’s work will not encounter new ideas, but rather a greatly abbreviated and cleverly presented reiteration of his work. The rules were either created by Pollan, submitted to him by those who read his request for food rules via a New York Times blog, or are long-standing, cultural ideas about eating.

This “eater’s manual” is an enjoyable read for all, but especially for those unfamiliar with Pollan’s work.

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Bill McKibben, self-proclaimed author, educator and environmentalist, encourages a new way of conceptualizing community in his book Deep Economy: the Wealth of Communities and Durable Future (2007). Aside from being truly inspirational, the book is pragmatic, logical and well written. He encourages us to reintroduce ourselves “to each other and to the possibility that we need to think about something other than More” (173).

The word more, as used by McKibben, refers simply to our seemingly insatiable thirst for things. Few would disagree that our culture is fixated on things—cheap, abundant and attention-grabbing things. But the affect those desires have on our communities is often overlooked.

In today’s global economy, the only concern seems to be the growth of companies and economies. The point of this of course is to grow our bank accounts, so that, surprise, we can acquire more things! Companies are working harder than ever to produce more for less, “and in the process making everyone’s lives…as efficiently miserable as possible” (210). In the long run, what good is owning another flat screen television if your neighbor’s job at Samsung is sent to India in an effort to produce that TV as cheaply as possible?

For McKibben however, along with an ever-growing number of concerned individuals, the happiness of your neighbor does matter. This book attempts to show us how we can work together to make the world a better place just one neighborhood at a time.

Those interested in supporting local food systems will enjoy the chapter on his year of eating locally, as well as the larger scope of this book. For further reading, pick up Slow Money by Woody Tasch, which applies the principles of the Slow Food movement to our local communities and our overall economy.

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Sustainable Food: How to Buy Right and Spend Less (2009) by Elise McDonough is one of a series of Chelsea Green Guides, which are designed “for individuals and businesses looking to green-up their knowledge.” This 67-page book is a quick reference on eating sustainably that will easily fit in a purse or jacket pocket.

The book offers concise explanations of food label buzz words like organic, genetically modified organisms (GMO), Fair Trade and free-range, among others. A focus is placed on helping consumers make eco and health friendly food choices without breaking the bank. For example, “Consider reducing your budget for meat and dairy…and put the money you save toward healthier organic fruits and veggies” (46). Wise advice indeed.

Sustainable Food is a useful resource for anyone but will be especially helpful to those with an interest in, but not much knowledge of eating ethically.

Chelsea Green Publishing kindly provided a review copy of this book.