Farmbrarian

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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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Women everywhere are working to improve the American food system. In her new book Farmer Jane: Woman Changing the Way We Eat (2010), Temra Costa recognizes 26 such women. Inspiring stories are shared about women changing the way we eat in a variety of ways. The book is divided into six chapters to spotlight women who are: growing food in new, dynamic ways; advocating for improved food policies;  promoting local foods; creating support networks; building urban farms; or committing to farming at a young age. Every story is incredibly inspiring and informational.

Traditionally, women have been marginalized in the field of agriculture. But Costa’s book emphasizes that throughout every region of the U.S., women are using their many talents to improve our health, our lands and our future. This book demonstrates, through strong prose and stories of even stronger personalities, that individuals can make great strides towards improving our food system.

Who’s your farmer jane? Visit http://www.farmerjane.org/ to submit your own story. And, thanks to Gibbs Smith for the review copy.

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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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Based on the title, I expected a different story than the one told here.  In fact, I was expecting to learn about a happy community with a well established local food culture showing the rest of us how it could be done.  What I wasn’t expecting was the author asking really tough questions about the feasibility of local food systems. Can communities in a country that prides itself on independence (really, the illusion of independence) embrace the interdependence necessary to build and maintain a local food system? What defines a local system?  Is it truly local if the people who live nearby can’t afford to buy it? How do communities react when the media pays attention only to those who have just recently discovered local food, while overlooking those who’ve been eating and producing it their entire lives? The author’s pragmatism challenged my local-food passion throughout the story and I was starting to worry that building alternatives to the current industrial food system is all a pipe dream. The good news is…I’m not going to tell. You’ll have to read the book.

Slow Food USA recently reviewed this book as well. Check out their comments here. Guest review kindly submitted by Shelley of Local Food Northern Nevada.

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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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The Locavore Way: Discover and Enjoy the Pleasures of Locally Grown Food (2009) by Amy Cotler is a comprehensive, easy-to-read guide on how to find, buy, and cook locally grown food. She covers every aspect of eating locally: from the basics, like what to look for at farmer’s markets, to the more complex, like how to buy meat and poultry in areas where local food is not available in stores. Recipes and tips for preparing many vegetables and fruits help those of us less experienced with creating meals with fresh food. The author also stresses the importance of consumer expectations of the companies, restaurants, and schools linked to our meals and how to effectively advocate for change. The Locavore Way includes a great resource section to get you started, and my favorite – testimonials from farmers, chefs, and families who make local food a part of their lives.

Thanks to Storey Publishing for the review copy and to one of Reno’s own locavores Shelley of Local Food Northern Nevada for the review! Shelley’s site is a great resource for area residents, check it out!

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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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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).