Farmbrarian

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Richard Wiswall’s The Organic Farmer’s Business Handbook: A Complete Guide to Managing Finances, Crops and Staff – and Making a Profit (2009), is an excellent resource for any farmer. Given the recent trend of abandoning a day job to start a small farm, this book should certainly be a success.

The book aims to teach readers how to run a profitable farm, and the focus is distinctly financial. Wiswall successfully explains how to treat your farm as a business and then how to run it profitably, like any good entrepreneur would. “Farm for profit, not production,” (15) he implores. Wiswall provides a step-by-step approach to reaching a target income, including exactly what to grow and how much, along with where to sell.  Also addressed are the often scary topics of writing a business plan, managing staff, marketing, and other concerns. Very little information is given on farming and growing practices, which was an appropriate choice by the author, given the plethora of existing material on such topics.

A successful farm truly is much more than growing and selling food. Richard Wiswall has provided a great asset–especially for farmers looking to improve profitability or get up and running.

This book was kindly provided by Chelsea Green Publishing–thanks for the resource!

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Pamela Ronald and Raoul Adamchak are an unlikely husband and wife duo that joins forces to provide a unique discussion on the roles of organic farming and genetic engineering in present-day and future agriculture. Both work at the University of California, Davis: Adamchak as an organic farmer and Ronald as a plant geneticist doing research mostly on rice.

Ronald’s unique position makes her argument in favor of transgenic crops much easier to digest than one taken out of a Monsanto catalog. She shows why, in her opinion, genetically engineered crops and organic methods are not only compatible, but mutually dependent.

Set in the authors’ Sacramento Valley community, Tomorrow’s Table: Organic Farming, Genetics, and the Future of Food (2008) reads like a civil discussion among friends or respected colleagues. The focus of the debate is on the best way to properly sustain the earth, while feeding a growing population.

The book gave me better understanding of and some level of respect for transgenic crops. It is a useful contribution to the food movement that provides a surprisingly objective look at the use of genetic engineering in modern day agriculture.

Quotes:

• “What if…GE is a tool that can be refined and shared, as grapes can be fermented and made into wine that delights and nourishes those who drink it?”(68)
• “Herbicide-resistant soybean has helped foster use of low-till and no-till agriculture, which leaves the fertile topsoil intact and protects it from [erosion].” (70)

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Interest in raw milk has been growing steadily as of late, and along with it has come pressure from state and federal regulatory agencies on suppliers to stop providing the controversial food.  In The Raw Milk Revolution: Behind America’s Emerging Battle Over Food Rights, business journalist David Gumpert examines the legal bout over unpasteurized milk that has taken place over the last several years.

Concern begins with a small group of people getting sick and testing positive for the famous e.coli strain 0157:H7. Next, state officials deem that the occasionally life-threatening bacteria were contracted by drinking raw milk. (Gumpert shows just how inconclusive these findings can be, however.) Newspapers run headlines about raw milk nearly taking the life of someone’s child, and whether justified or not, the farmer is run out of business and a fear of the drink is established. The legal precedents being set in examples like this one are literally changing the rights of raw milk consumers and producers as you read this.

In addition to analyzing recent legal actions, the book presents anecdotal and scientific information on the health benefits and risks of consuming unpasteurized milk.  Many believe pasteurization destroys vitamins and enzymes (like lactase, the enzyme used to digest lactose), as well as various beneficial bacteria that are thought to play a role in strengthening our immune systems. Raw milk, like pasteurized milk, can however harbor dangerous bacteria if caution is not taken in production and distribution. Many outbreaks have been attributed to the consumption of raw milk throughout history. Gumpert makes it clear that he is pro-raw milk, but provides a very fair assessment of conflicting opinions.

Gumpert is also the author of the blog The Complete Patient, which began in 2006 and primarily discusses raw milk. The book frequently refers to the blog, including extensive quoting of both posts and comments. With the exception of some redundancies, the book is well presented and easy to understand.

A larger debate exists concerning food rights in general, and journalists like Gumpert are doing great work to illuminate the problems with our food system so that we can be free to produce and consume healthy foods. Overall, The Raw Milk Revolution is a great resource for anyone interested in raw milk.

A review copy of this book was kindly provided by Chelsea Green Publishing—thanks for sharing!

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Joel Salatin is the famed owner of Polyface Farms located in Virginia and widely featured in the sustainable agriculture movement.  Author Michael Pollan featured Polyface in his best-selling book The Omnivore’s Dilemma, which contrasted Salatin’s idyllic method of agriculture with more industrial, less earth-friendly agribusiness; and the documentaries Fresh and Food, Inc. also spotlight Polyface Farms.

In Everything I Want to Do Is Illegal (2007), as you might guess, Salatin spells out his frustration with the government (occasionally referred to as the “chicken police”) over issues such as raw milk, custom beef, salmonella, farmer’s markets, organic certification, taxes and plenty more.

Readers will discover the many legal challenges Salatin faces as a result of laws designed for large agribusinesses that catch his small farm in an all-encompassing net.  For example, large dairy operations are required, and happy, to pasteurize their milk for safety reasons.  The mandate is a result of over-crowded, mis-fed and antibiotic filled cows, which are incomparable to Polyface’s small, pasture-raised herd.  Even though his milk doesn’t need to be pasteurized for the sake of its consumers, his farm (and many others just like it) receive no exemption from the law.

The book raises awareness of the many barriers that impede sustainable farming efforts. Understanding the obstacles faced by our small farmers is critical to the survival of the sustainable agriculture movement.

Quotes:

• “The system thinks we’re a successful culture because we have more prisoners in America than farmers” (XV).
• “[Farming] is not just a business, it is a sacred calling…serving people who seek truth and are willing to travel dirt roads to get it” (59).
• “A democracy that worships money and power is no better than a socialist society that holds the same values” (230).
• “Unless and until government policy encourages a local food chain, America’s food chain will be increasingly vulnerable to bioterrorism” (266).
• “If you want to know what good food is, as a rule of thumb, whatever was available in 1900 is probably okay” (322).

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How can we feed 9.5 billion people by 2070?  Paul Roberts explores this multi-faceted dilemma in his book The End of Food (2009).

The development of the modern, international food system, contemporary farming methods and challenges, and a heavy dose of politics are a few of the topics covered.  Roberts offers a fair balance of viewpoints and presents information in a very digestible format.

Despite walking away with a better understanding of the problems, the players involved, and the steps that are being taken towards improvement, I feel that the book lacks focus and would benefit greatly from better cohesion.

The End of Food is not written to provide the solution, but rather to educate readers on the problem.  Roberts achieves this goal and has therefore provided a useful book in the endless battle to improve our ailing food system.

Read this book if:

• You want good background information on the formation of our current food economy.
• You are interested in food politics (US farm subsidies, the roles/actions of mega-corporations, global considerations, etc.).

Quotes:

• “I think a lot of people would enjoy being farmers, but somehow, as a society we’ve decided that farming is inappropriate” (250).
• “According to surveys by Delate, organic-corn yields in Iowa are now between 90 and 92 percent of conventional yields, while soybeans are at 94 percent” (251).
• “Consumers wishing to avoid transgenic foods cannot, because the industry has successfully blocked any requirement that transgenic crops be labeled – despite surveys showing that nine out of ten consumers want such labels” (256).

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Where Our Food Comes From traces the path of Nikolay Vavilov, a Russian scientist who embarked on a mission to collect and store seeds from around the world. According to Nabhan, Vavilov was the first to fully articulate the connections between food diversity, health and food security–all of which are hot topics in agriculture and nutrition (23). Vavilov’s journey and contribution to science and agriculture was certainly profound.

The book follows Vavilov’s path, a small part of which was recently retraced by Nabhan himself. Entwined in the story is that of the WWII era communist government of the Soviet Union, which was ultimately responsible for Vavilov’s premature death, despite his extraordinary and successful efforts to preserve plants for future generations.

A clear picture of Vavilov’s life is painted, but the book reads a bit like a history lesson. Hopefully the book inspires others to continue Vavilov’s life work, however it is unlikely to provide much in the way of entertainment.

Quotes:

• “Today, America educates its rural youth to aspire to be anything but a farmer” (137).
• “[Vavilov is] the man who more than anyone else in history helped humankind appreciate where our food has come from” (190).

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Frances Moore Lappé’s Diet for a Small Planet; 20^th Anniversary Edition is a very well known source of information on healthy eating for yourself, society and the planet. It is clear to me that this book influenced many current authors like Woody Tasch, Michael Pollen and Mark Winne, to name a few.

Lappé points out that people can eat a very healthy diet while eating minimal amounts of meat, if any. By eating less meat, the argument goes, we can use grain to feed the world, instead of feeding it to our livestock, which is a very inefficient use of calories. According to Lappé, the grain used to make one pound of steak could instead feed 40 people. That is a powerful statistic, albeit not one on which all sources will agree. As a part of her reduced meat diet she explains protein complementarity, which is a way of combining proteins to maximize nutritional value. This method, however, is no longer accepted as necessary by nutrition experts.

Briefly explored is the idea of power in the American democracy and the way our current set up leads to many people going without, while others become obese (from eating more protein than our bodies can even use, she says). Her arguments are well supported and clearly stated.

The last part of the book is full of recipes to support her diet plan. She presents the recipes in an approachable way that shows how simple it really can be. Also included are helpful tips on saving time and money while cooking and shopping. Though none of the recipes contain meat, Lappé is not necessarily advocating vegetarianism; she simply wants people to realize that cooking with little or no meat is easy, healthy and satisfying. If more people cooked this way our world would be much better nourished overall.

Read this book if:

• You are interested in helping our food system become more sustainable (more aligned with the earth’s natural ability to produce food).
• You want to learn to reduce your diet’s footprint on the earth.
• You have read a lot of current authors on nutrition and agriculture  and want to read a book that likely influenced them.

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Woody Tasch’s Inquiries into the Nature of Slow Money: Investing as if Food, Farms, and Fertility Mattered is a worthwhile read for anyone interested in sustainability. While he does present some fresh ideas, the intent of the book is largely to summarize the current status of social investing, small food enterprises, local food systems, sustainable soil quality, and other topics. The author provides history, presents current research and developments, quotes others extensively and gives his own analysis of what some of this means.

Tasch shows a clear concern for the direction of our society and hopes that by bringing together pieces of the slow money puzzle he will advance the cause. Hopefully this new idea of slow money will encourage discussion and ultimately lead to new ideas, businesses and responsibility among consumers.

I have long been asking myself the question “What can I do?” in regards to sustainable agriculture and personal responsibility as a consumer. Tasch succeeds in answering this question. Inquiries into the Nature of Slow Money will help you understand the problems, so you can find solutions, sooner.

Read this book if:

• You want to know how you can help
• You wonder what’s happening with our current economic mess and the direction it’s going
• You’d like to learn about the concepts of Slow Money/Slow Food

Want more information? The Wall Street Journal recently discussed this title in their article “Forget Conventional 401(k)s; Think Goat Cheese and Fennel.” The Huffington Post also featured a review of the book; and Civil Eats writer Jerusha Klemperer interviews the author here.

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Gary Paul Nabhan’s book about his year long local eating experiment gives readers good insight into Nabhan’s personal life, but surprisingly little information about his local eating foray. For one year, Nabhan plans to prepare 80% of his meals using foods grown within a few hundred miles of his Arizona home. This is certainly a noble act, but I found myself continuously asking how he actually did it. Sure, he tells of gathering traditional food from a local desert, slaughtering turkeys he raised and eating peaches from his own tree. But we’re talking about a thousand or so meals, which would require a lot more local food than he discusses. This omission left a lot to be desired for me.

Aside from information about Nabhan’s wife and other local eating acquaintances, he briefly discusses food politics. Here the reader encounters some interesting information, but is still left thirsting for more.

Nabhan has good intentions, however the book is neither informative nor inspiring enough to be compared to other tales of local eating, such as  Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver.

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As a society we should abandon the industrial food system and eat food in its natural form, as put forth by mother nature. This is a strong conviction of Nina Planck, who spells the idea out over 352 pages in her book Real Food. Her arguments are convincing and very closely mirror those expressed by the recently famous journalist Michael Pollan (The Omnivore’s Dilemma, The Botany of Desire).

Real Food presents a strategy on eating based on unprocessed food that is sensible and will be beneficial to those who implement it. Planck essentially places no restriction on foods as long as they are in their pure form. Pie made with lard in the crust and topped with cream? Certainly. She claims that the rise of health issues in Western culture parallels the rise in processing our food (many people however have drawn similarly competent, yet different parallels to the rise of Western diseases). She goes on to refute the longstanding idea that saturated animal fats and cholesterol lead to heart disease and obesity. Planck is not alone in this stance as there is a growing contingent in the field of nutrition who have shifted blame away from so called “bad fats” and cholesterol.

This book is a great read for anyone interested in nutrition and will likely encourage you to improve your diet. I strongly suggest you balance her views with those of other authors (new and old), because her ideas are far from scientific fact.

This book was sourced from the Mathewson-IGT Knowledge Center at the University of Nevada, Reno.

Notable quote: “If beef and butter were to blame for heart disease, heart disease wouldn’t be new. We’ve been eating them for too long.”

Read this book if:

• You are concerned with the shortcomings of our industrial food system
• You enjoy the work of Michael Pollan
• You are a vegetarian or vegan and would like to hear a contemporary and somewhat compelling argument against your diet