The Urban Food Revolution

Our reliance on industrial agriculture has resulted in a food supply riddled with hidden environmental, economic and health care costs and beset by rising food prices. With only a handful of corporations responsible for the lion's share of the food on our supermarket shelves, we are incredibly vulnerable to supply chain disruption. The Urban Food Revolution provides a recipe for community food security based on leading innovations across North America. The author draws on his political and business experience to show that we have all the necessary ingredients to ensure that local, fresh sustainable food is affordable and widely available. He describes how cities are bringing food production home by: Growing community through neighborhood gardening, cooking and composting programs Rebuilding local food processing, storage and distribution systems Investing in farmers markets and community supported agriculture Reducing obesity through local fresh food initiatives in schools, colleges and universities. Ending inner-city food deserts Producing food locally makes people healthier, alleviates poverty, creates jobs, and makes cities safer and more beautiful. The Urban Food Revolution is an essential resource for anyone who has lost confidence in the global industrial food system and wants practical advice on how to join the local food revolution.

A global movement to take back our food is growing. The future of farming is in our hands—and in our cities. This book examines alternative food systems in cities around the globe that are shortening their food chains, growing food within their city limits, and taking their "food security" into their own hands. The author, an award-winning food journalist, sought out leaders in the urban-agriculture movement and visited cities successfully dealing with "food deserts." What she found was not just a niche concern of activists but a global movement that cuts across the private and public spheres, economic classes, and cultures. She describes a global movement happening from London and Paris to Vancouver and New York to establish alternatives to the monolithic globally integrated supermarket model. A cadre of forward-looking, innovative people has created growing spaces in cities: on rooftops, backyards, vacant lots, along roadways, and even in "vertical farms." Whether it’s a community public orchard supplying the needs of local residents or an urban farm that has reclaimed a derelict inner city lot to grow and sell premium market veggies to restaurant chefs, the urban food revolution is clearly underway and working. This book is an exciting, fascinating chronicle of a game-changing movement, a rebellion against the industrial food behemoth, and a reclaiming of communities to grow, distribute, and eat locally.

Previously published as a Gotham Books hardcover edition.

Urban Agriculture is packed with ideas and designs for anyone interested in joining the new food revolution. First-time farmers and green thumbs alike will find advice on growing healthy, delicious, affordable food in urban settings. From condo balconies to community orchards, cities are coming alive with crops. Get growing!

'The School Food Revolution is an important book that deserves success.' Journal of Organic Systems 'A great new book that describes how 'the humble school meal' can be considered as 'a litmus test of... government's political commitment to sustainable development.' Peter Riggs, Director, Forum on Democracy & Trade 'The School Food Revolution should be an inspiration for policy makers and for school heads and school canteen operators.' Tom Vaclavik, President, Organic Retailers Association School food suddenly finds itself at the forefront of contemporary debates about healthy eating, social inclusion, ecological sustainability and local economic development. All around the world it is becoming clear - to experts, parents, educators, practitioners and policy-makers - that the school food service has the potential to deliver multiple dividends that would significantly advance the sustainable development agenda at global, national and local levels. Drawing on new empirical data collected in urban and rural areas of Europe, North America and Africa, this book offers a timely and original contribution to the school food debate by highlighting the potential of creative public procurement - the power of purchase. The book takes a critical look at the alleged benefits of school food reform, such as lower food miles, the creation of markets for local producers and new food education initiatives that empower consumers by nurturing their capacity to eat healthily. To assess the potential of these claims, the book compares a variety of sites involved in the school food revolution - from rural communities committed to the values of 'the local' to global cities such as London, New York and Rome that feed millions of ethnically diverse young people daily. The book also examines the UN's new school feeding programme - the Home Grown Programme - which sees nutritious food as an end in itself as well as a means to meeting the Millennium Development Goals. Overall, the book examines the theory, policy and practice of public food provisioning, offering a comparative perspective on the design and delivery of sustainable school food systems. The cover illustration is by a Roman child. The authors would like to thank the City of Rome (Department for School and Educational Policies) for permission to reproduce it.

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.

Today a buck gets you a quick burger (or two), but what’s the real cost of that meal? The rates of chronic disease—specifically diseases like diabetes, caused by our lifestyles—have grown exponentially in recent years, edging medical expenses ever higher while threatening to give America its first generation to actually live shorter lives than their parents. Unfortunately finding good nutrition is no walk in the park, with more and more Americans living in cities, far from a farmer’s field. To overcome distance and undercut price, we rely on industry to put dinner on the table— yet this system has valued efficiency and short-term profits over our own health and the health of our environment. So how do we keep America thriving? Congressman Tim Ryan may have a soft spot for chicken wings and ice cream, but he also knows the joy of farm-fresh produce and the feel of soil between his fingers. Here he presents easy, actionable steps that anyone can take, from starting an herb garden on your windowsill to helping implement food education in your child’s school to petitioning your elected officials. Ryan also introduces some of the current food revolutionaries, who are shining examples of people who saw a problem with how we think about food today, rolled up their sleeves, and raised a crop of positive change. The commonsense ideas in these pages come big (replacing dilapidated neighborhoods with farms) and small (sitting down for a fresh, healthy meal with your family), and each will help you improve the quality of life for you and future generations.

We are at a critical point in human history and that of the planet. In this book, a world leader in agricultural research, Professor Sayed Azam-Ali, proposes a radical transformation of our agrifood system. He argues that agriculture must be understood as part of global biodiversity and that food systems have cultural, nutritional, and social values beyond market price alone. He describes the perilous risks of relying on just four staple crops for most of our food and the consequences of our current agrifood model on human and planetary health.In plain language for the wider public, students, researchers, and policy makers, Azam-Ali envisions the agrifood system as a global public good in which its practitioners include a new and different generation of farmers, its production systems link novel and traditional technologies, and its activities encompass landscapes, urban spaces, and controlled environments. The book concludes with a call to action in which diversification of species, systems, knowledge, cultures, and products all contribute to The Ninth Revolution that will transform food systems for good.Related Link(s)