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To become good stewards of the planet, we need to connect with our ‘climate emotions’—because that’s how we move from grief and anxiety toward a sense of purpose and thriving, says science writer Britt Wray.
Bottled water is a US$300 billion market—and it’s creating a trifecta of plastic waste, resource extraction, and social inequity, says sociologist Daniel Jaffee.
When author Will Harris inherited his family’s farm, he also took on the conventional practices that came with it—but he took a big gamble and is now practicing regenerative agriculture and working with nature, not against it.
Sound interesting?
Wray’s book, “Generation Dread: Finding Purpose in an Age of Climate Crisis,” Jaffee’s book, “Unbottled: The Fight against Plastic Water and for Water Justice,” and Harris’s book, “A Bold Return to Giving A Damn: One Farm, Six Generations, and the Future of Food” are all among the 20 books included in Food Tank’s new winter book list.
The books we’re highlighting this season include a comprehensive how-to guide for preserving fresh ingredients, deeply researched analyses of food banks and how to prevent food waste, and collections of essays on building a better food system. Writers include farmers, activists, researchers, United States Senators, chefs, poets, and so many others.
The books on this list look to the past, seek to analyze the present, and lay out bold visions for the future. These books are starting points to explore new topics—go down new pathways—as you deepen your understanding of food and agriculture.
Books on the list include: “A Bold Return to Giving A Damn: One Farm, Six Generations, and the Future of Food” by Will Harris; “Barons: Money, Power, and the Corruption of America’s Food Industry” by Austin Frerick; “Food, Inc. 2: Inside the Quest for a Better Future for Food” edited by Karl Weber; “Food Waste, Food Insecurity, and the Globalization of Food Banks” by Daniel N. Warshawsky; “Generation Dread: Finding Purpose in an Age of Climate Crisis” by Britt Wray; “Globalisation and Livelihood Transformations in the Indonesian Seaweed Industry” edited by Zannie Langford; “Good Eats: 32 Writers on Eating Ethically” edited by Jennifer Cognard-Black and Melissa A. Goldthwaite; “How to Start a Farm Stop: A Pattern Language for Local Food Systems” by Kathryn Barr; “Invitation to a Banquet: The Story of Chinese Food” by Fuchsia Dunlop; “My Side of the River: An Alaska Native Story” by Elias Kelly; “Saying NO to a Farm-Free Future: The Case for an Ecological Food System and Against Manufactured Foods” by Chris Smaje; “School Food Politics in Mexico: The Corporatization of Obesity and Healthy Eating Policies” by José Tenorio; “The Preserving Garden” by Jo Turner; “TOXIC: From Factory to Food Bowl, Pet Food Is a Risky Business” by Phyllis Entis; “Ultra-Processed People: The Science Behind Food That Isn’t Food” by Chris van Tulleken; “Unbottled: The Fight against Plastic Water and for Water Justice” by Daniel Jaffee; “University Engagement with Farming Communities in Africa: Community Action Research Platforms” edited by Anthony Egeru, Megan Lindow, and Kay Muir Leresche; “What We Sow: On the Personal, Ecological, and Cultural Significance of Seeds” by Jennifer Jewell; “What if CAFOs Were History?: The Rise of Regenerative Farming” by Leo Horrigan; and “Wild, Tamed, Lost, Revived: The Surprising Story of Apples in the South” by Diane Flynt.
I hope you’ll take a look at the full list HERE.
I also want to share a recent episode of the Food Tank podcast, which features Dr. Cary Fowler, the Special Envoy for Global Food Security. He recently launched a new program in Africa called Vision for Adapted Crops and Soils, which aims to boost crop productivity and nutrition security through resilient, biodiverse agriculture.
“We’ve got to get the fundamentals right,” he said. “And the fundamentals are always going to be soils and crops.”
I couldn’t agree more. You can listen to our full conversation HERE.
What books have you been reading lately that have expanded your understanding of food and agriculture? Share them with me at [email protected] so I can add them to my own reading list and recommend them to other Food Tankers!
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Photo courtesy of Redd F, Unsplash
