Farmers Versus Foodies

An agricultural revolution is sweeping the land. Appreciation for high-quality food, often locally grown, an awareness of the fragility of our farmlands, and a new generation of young people interested in farming, animals, and respect for the earth have come together to create a new agrarian community. To this group of farmers, chefs, activists, and visionaries, Letters to a Young Farmer is addressed. Three dozen esteemed leaders of the changes that made this revolution possible speak to the highs and lows of farming life in vivid and personal letters specially written for this collaboration. Barbara Kingsolver speaks to the tribe of farmers—some born to it, many self-selected—with love, admiration, and regret. Dan Barber traces the rediscovery of lost grains and foodways. Michael Pollan bridges the chasm between agriculture and nature. Bill McKibben connects the early human quest for beer to the modern challenge of farming in a rapidly changing climate. Letters to a Young Farmer is a vital road map of how we eat and farm, and why now, more than ever before, we need farmers.

Farmer Jane profiles thirty women in the sustainable food industry, describing their agriculture and business models and illustrating the amazing changes they are making in how we connect with food. These advocates for creating a more holistic and nurturing food and agriculture system also answer questions on starting a community-supported agriculture (CSA) program, how to get involved in policy at local and national levels, and how to address the different types of renewable energy and finance them.

The inspiring and sometimes hilarious story of a family that quit the rat race and left the city to live out their ideals on an organic farm, and ended up building a model for a new kind of agriculture. You know those books where the city folks move to the country and have all kinds of crazy misadventures? Where the barnyard is a place of bucolic harmony and each passing season brings the author closer to understanding his proper place in the natural order? You know those books where the primary objective is not so much farming, but writing about farming? This isn’t that kind of book. It’s true that Brent Preston and Gillian Flies did leave the city and move to the country, and they did make a lot of stupid mistakes, some of which are pretty funny in hindsight. But their goal from the beginning was to build a real farm, one that would sustain their family, heal their environment, and nourish their community. It was a goal that was achieved not through bucolic self-reflection, but through a decade of grinding toil and perseverance. Told with humour and heart in Preston’s unflinchingly honest voice, The New Farm is the story of one family’s transition from die-hard urbanites to bona fide farmers and passionate advocates for a more just and sustainable food system. It’s the story of how a couple of young professionals learned not just how to grow food, but how to succeed at the business of farming. And it’s the story of how a small, sustainable, organic farm ended up providing not just a livelihood, but a happy, meaningful and fulfilling way of life.

There are few social issues more pressing than the seemingly disparate issues of social class and safe food. At this point in history, food production, work, and social class are intertwined in a way that puts our collective health at risk, and discourse about food production has become ‘classed language’, designed to show one’s place in the social stratosphere. Consequently, this shift in the function of discourse about food production has focused attention away from the three major issues facing the farming industry. First, farmers need to concern themselves with feeding the world’s hungry populations. Second, farmers need to produce healthy food. Third, farmers need to be able to feed their own families.To illustrate the relationship between social class, work, and food production the author uses her own experience as an academic and a farmer, as well as interviews with a family farmer, an organic farmer, and a family who are agribusiness farmers. The author concludes that farming needs to be more diverse in order to feed hungry people around the world, and produce high quality, healthy food for the regional population where the food is produced. Several suggestions are provided that can be used to help farmers achieve this.The writer’s gentle sense of humour and story telling approach make the book accessible to a wide range of readers. First, it would be a useful book for advanced undergraduates studying social justice, social class, or organizational communication. Second, the book will provide the material for the high level of conversation necessary in a graduate level course. Third, the book will be valuable to intelligent people concerned about both social justice and healthy food production.

The book gives an overview of the organic food sector, both in Italy and in the US. It covers economic issues raised by organic farming, taking into account the consumer's needs but also the managerial and budget constraints experienced by the farmers. The book also details how agricultural economists perform analyses dealing with organic produce at different points in the supply chain.

"A century ago, virtually all food -- fruits, vegetables, grains, meat, and dairy -- was local, grown at home or sourced within a few miles. But today, most food consumed in the United States comes from industrial farms and concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs), with ramifications to our health, our environment, and our economy. The tide is turning, however, thanks to what has been called the "farm-to-table" movement. In Farm to Table, Darryl Benjamin and Chef Lyndon Virkler explore both the roots of our current, corporate food system malaise, and the response by small farmers, food co-ops, chefs and restaurateurs, institutions, and many more, to replace the status quo with something more healthy, fair, just, and delicious. Today's consumers are demanding increased accountability from food growers and purveyors. Farm to Table illuminates the best practices and strategies for schools, restaurants, healthcare facilities, and other businesses and institutions, to partner with local farmers and food producers, from purchasing to marketing. Readers will also learn about the various alternative techniques that farms are employing - from permaculture to rotation-intensive grazing - to produce better tasting and more nutritious food, restore environmental health, and meet consumer demand. A one-of-a-kind resource, Farm to Table shows how to integrate truly sustainable principles into every juncture of our evolving food system."--Back cover.

"Fields of Plenty is the memoir of respected farmer, writer, and photographer Michael Ableman as he and his son travel from his own farm in British Columbia across the United States in search of innovative and passionate farmers who are making a difference in what we eat and how we experience food. From California to New York, this story captures the essence of each farmer's vision, the spirit of the land that they work, and the beauty and flavors of the foods that they lovingly produce. Ableman's odyssey takes him to a melon grower who is "militant about flavor," sheep-cheese producers who have built their own culturing caves, an urban farmer growing heirloom tomatoes for market on abandoned lots, and others who are trying to answer the complex questions of sustenance philosophically and, most important, practically." "Fields of Plenty is a hopeful memoir that reveals the larger issues of food in a modern world. Illustrated with Ableman's photographs and flavored with recipes that feature each farmer's bounty, Fields of Plenty is an intimate portrait of food and agriculture at a critical crossroads."--BOOK JACKET.

Only a farmer could delve so deeply into the origins of food, and only a writer of Wendell Berry's caliber could convey it with such conviction and eloquence. Drawn from more than thirty years of work, this collection is essential reading for all who care about what they eat.