SKYCTC QEP Book Club - Fall 2014 - The Good Food Revolution: More Books

Will Allen is no ordinary farmer. A former basketball star, he's as tall as his truck, and he can hold a cabbage, or a basketball, in one hand. But what is most special about Farmer Will is that he can see what others can't see. When he looked at an abandoned city lot he saw a huge table, big enough to feed the whole world. No space, no problem. Poor soil, there's a solution. Need help, found it. Farmer Will is a genius in solving problems. In 2008, the MacArthur Foundation named him one. Jacqueline Briggs Martin, author of the Caldecott winner, Snowflake Bentley, tells the inspiring story of an innovator, educator, and community builder. Combined with artist Eric Larkin's striking artwork, readers will share Will Allen’s optimism and determination to bring good food to every table.

The technological revolution in farming practices has allowed us to clear and cultivate more land, grow plants and animals faster, and kill a greater variety of pests and diseases than ever before. Unfortunately, these efficiencies are proving to be unsustainable in the long term and have created problems such as soil structural decline, erosion, salinity, soil acidification, loss of fertility, nutrient loading of waterways, dams and a build up of chemical residues. This book is about foreseeing and understanding such problems and addressing them before it is too late.

Too many Americans eat the food on their plates with little thought to its origin and in blind faith that government regulations will protect them from danger. While many Americans might have grown up in farming families, there are fewer family-owned farms with each passing generation. Americans are becoming disconnected from understanding the sources and content of their food. The farmers interviewed in From the Farm to the Table can help reestablish that connection.

As the threats of food insecurity loom ever larger, the world faces the sad irony of food shortages in the global South alongside a purported 'obesity epidemic' in the global North. The twin issues of food production and food access are of particular concern in the context of climate change, 'peak oil', biofuels, and land grabs by wealthy nations. Food Security, Nutrition and Sustainability offers critical insights by international scholars, with chapters on global food security, supermarket power, new technologies, and sustainability.

The politics of food is changing fast. This book carefully examines and explains the most important issues on today's global food landscape, including international food prices, famines, chronic hunger, the Malthusian race between food production and population growth, international food aid, "green revolution" farming, obesity, farm subsidies and trade, agriculture and the environment, agribusiness, supermarkets, food safety, fast food, slow food, organic food, local food, and genetically engineered food.

Food, Inc. is guaranteed to shake up our perceptions of what we eat. This powerful documentary deconstructing the corporate food industry in America was hailed by Entertainment Weekly as "more than a terrific movie-it's an important movie." This book will encourage those inspired by the film to learn more about the issues, and act to change the world.

In today's food system, farm workers face difficult and hazardous conditions, low-income neighborhoods lack supermarkets but abound in fast-food restaurants and liquor stores, food products emphasize convenience rather than wholesomeness, and the international reach of American fast-food franchises has been a major contributor to an epidemic of "globesity." To combat these inequities and excesses, a movement for food justice has emerged in recent years seeking to transform the food system from seed to table. In this book, Gottlieb & Joshi tell the story of this emerging movement.

People have always grown food in urban spaces--on windowsills and sidewalks, and in backyards and neighborhood parks--but today, urban farmers are leading an environmental and social movement that transforms our national food system. To explore this agricultural renaissance, brothers David and Michael Hanson and urban farmer Edwin Marty document twelve successful urban farm programs, from an alternative school for girls in Detroit, to a backyard food swap in New Orleans, to a restaurant supply garden on a rooftop in Brooklyn. Each beautifully illustrated essay offers practical advice for budding farmers, such as composting and keeping livestock in the city, decontaminating toxic soil, even changing zoning laws.

This book presents the state of the art in the development of sustainable urban agriculture, and will be primarily of interest to municipal authorities, NGOs, community-based organizations, governmental organizations, and other stakeholders and development practitioners in urban agriculture.

"Public Produce" makes a uniquely contemporary case not for central government intervention, but for local government involvement in shaping food policy. In what Darrin Nordahl calls "municipal agriculture," elected officials, municipal planners, local policymakers, and public space designers are turning to the abundance of land under public control (parks, plazas, streets, city squares, parking lots, as well as the grounds around libraries, schools, government offices, and even jails) to grow food. Public agencies at one time were at best indifferent about, or at worst dismissive of, food production in the city. This book profiles urban food growing efforts, illustrating that there is both a need and a desire to supplement our existing food production methods outside the city with opportunities inside the city.

This book presents a collection of the latest thinking on the multiple dimensions of sustainable greenspace and food production within cities. It describes the diversity of 'urban agriculture' and seeks a balanced representation between the biophysical and the social. It deals with urban agriculture across scales - from indoor plants to farm-scale filtration of greywater. A range of examples and initiatives from both developed and developing countries is described and evaluated.

At the last census in 2006, just over 80 percent of Canada’s population lived in urban centres. How we feed that population and protect its food sources is an enduring subject of debate in food security circles these days. As consumers and citizens, we all need to take a hard look at the deficiencies in Canada’s ability to feed the urban poor; our dependence on imported foods and centralized food processing; our detachment from our food sources; the often problematic solutions to food security devised by governments, municipalities and non-profit groups; and where we are headed if we change nothing in these times when change is urgently needed. Many efforts are being made to introduce urban agriculture initiatives all across the country, to address the problems we’ve created and to protect our cities from real and potential crises in the food supply.

This book is a comprehensive overview of local food systems and explores the definitions of local food; estimates market size and reach; describes the characteristics of local consumers and producers; and examines early indications of the economic and health impacts of local food systems.

In 2009, First Lady Michelle Obama established an organic vegetable garden at the White House, reflecting the impact and popularity of the "green" food movement at even the highest levels. Her action is no surprise. Global sales of organic products topped $23 billion in 2008 and have been growing 20 to 25 percent annually for the past decade.

The organic sector has expanded rapidly over the last decade. The National Organic Program (NOP) was created within the USDA to establish standards for producers and processors of organic foods, and permit such operations to label their products with a "USDA Organic" seal after being officially certified by USDA-accredited agents. The purpose of the program, as discussed in this book, is to give consumers confidence in the legitimacy of the products.

Everyone must eat, so working for a food store can be a very secure job. You can start such work while you are still in high school. If you continue, you may not need a college degree to progress into management, however, having a degree will increase your chances for advancement and higher earnings. Owning your own grocery store can provide a very comfortable living, but owning your own natural foods store can be financially beneficial as well as satisfying in a socially and ecologically responsible way.

Bestselling author and gardening columnist Marjorie Harris offers a timely and entertaining guide for gardeners at every stage of life. Harris shares the best tips on how to create a beautiful garden for any space -- all on a budget.

Make the most of your vegetable garden. This comprehensive new handbook covers everything you need to know about maximizing and harvesting the best vegetables you can possibly produce. With each chapter addressing a different vegetable, you'll learn tips and tricks about varietal selection, nutritional merits, how to begin, special hints for growing, and how to deal with particular pests and diseases, plus one or two creative recipes to get you started.

This succinct handbook is packed with practical information that will inspire and enable those who want to grow their own food and venture down the path of food independence. From choosing and starting seeds to preserving the harvest, cost effective and time-saving projects are set forth in detail. Instructions for making DIY planters and irrigation systems, designs for upcycling old furniture into gardening stations, recipes for homemade organic plant sprays, charts listing dollars-and-cents breakdowns of homegrown versus store-bought produce, and growing guides for fruits or vegetables are just a few of the projects that will inspire neophyte and experienced gardeners to dig deep into sustainable living.

With tips covering everything from artemisia to vetiver grass, this book offers a fun and lively look at forty common herbs and the creative and useful things people do with them. Each herb description includes the plant's history and a list of popular uses, as well as helpful information about how to successfully grow them, how to enjoy them in the garden, or how to use them in the kitchen.

Eating locally grown and seasonal foods addresses many of the social and environmental problems raised by today's energy intensive methods of food production. In From Seed to Table, organic gardener Janette Haase offers a month-by-month guide to growing a significant amount of food in a small home garden. From the earliest spring salads to autumn's sweetest root vegetables, this book will show anyone with willing hands and a small plot of earth how to grow an efficient and productive garden and enjoy a healthier, more environmentally responsible diet. Haase takes the home gardener through the tasks of the gardening year, giving clear instructions for the work to be done at each time, from planning to planting to harvesting and storage. And she doesn't forget the best part of growing your own food - eating! The book includes delicious seasonal recipes and menu ideas plus food for thought in the form of essays on food-related issues that affect everyone.

Veteran gardener Judy Barrett offers readers more than a hundred simple recipes for using, enjoying, and enhancing the bounty of their gardens. These easy recipes--some old family favorites, others created by Barrett, and still others from cooks and gardeners she admires--encourage home gardening for everyone. In her familiar and relaxed style, Barrett shows readers how to use the plentiful harvests of common vegetables (such as beans, squashes, cucumbers, and peppers), how to experiment with more exotic plants (like ginger and jujubes), and what to prepare for the freezer or pantry once the growing season has ended. From bean and tomato salsa to lemon meringue pie, the ingredients are straightforward and the instructions uncomplicated. Barrett also shares gardening tips and ideas for using what you have grown in the garden to help take care of your house, yourself, and--coming full circle--your garden itself.

Popular food blogger Marisa McClellan takes you through all manner of food in jars, storing away the tastes of all seasons for later. Basics like jams and jellies are accompanied by pickles, chutneys, conserves, whole fruit, tomato sauces, salsas, marmalades, nut butters, seasonings, and more. Small batches make them easy projects for a canning novice to tackle, and the flavors of vanilla bean, sage, and pepper will keep more experienced jammers coming back for more.