Slow Food® Utah

Written by: Stacy Mitchell, Senior Researcher with the New Rules Project, a program of the nonprofit Institute for Local Self–Reliance.

Published by: Beacon Press, 2005.

From the publisher: "Mitchell traces the dramatic growth of mega–retailers from big boxes like Wal–Mart and Home Depot to chains like Starbucks and Old Navy–and the precipitous decline of independent businesses. Drawing on examples from virtually every state in the country, she unearths the extraordinary impact of these stores and the big–box mentality on everything from soaring gasoline consumption to rising poverty rates, failing family farms, and declining voting levels. Along the way, Mitchell exposes the shocking role government policy has played in the expansion of mega–retailers and builds a compelling case that communities composed of many small, locally owned businesses are healthier and more prosperous than those dominated by a few large chains."

"More than a critique, Big–Box Swindle provides an invigorating account of how some communities have successfully countered the spread of big boxes and rebuilt their local economies. Since 2000, over 200 big–box development projects have been halted by groups of ordinary citizens, and scores of towns and cities have adopted laws that favor small–scale, local business development which limit the proliferation of chains. From cutting–edge land–use policies to innovative cooperative small–business initiatives, Mitchell offers communities concrete strategies that can stave off mega–retailers and create a more prosperous and sustainable future."

Links of Interest: Big–Box Toolkit, and the New Rules Project, both produced by the nonprofit Institute for Local Self–Reliance.

(Webmaster’s Note: While this title is not about food issues per se, it is about local commerce which is a primary issue of concern for the Slow Food Movement.)

Written by Michael Pollan.

Published by Random House Trade Paperbacks.

"Working in his garden one day, Michael Pollan hit pay dirt in the form of an idea: do plants, he wondered, use humans as much as we use them? While the question is not entirely original, the way Pollan examines this complex coevolution by looking at the natural world from the perspective of plants is unique. The result is a fascinating and engaging look at the true nature of domestication.

In making his point, Pollan focuses on the relationship between humans and four specific plants: apples, tulips, marijuana, and potatoes. He uses the history of John Chapman (Johnny Appleseed) to illustrate how both the apple’s sweetness and its role in the production of alcoholic cider made it appealing to settlers moving west, thus greatly expanding the plant’s range. He also explains how human manipulation of the plant has weakened it, so that ‘modern apples require more pesticide than any other food crop.’ The tulipomania of 17th-century Holland is a backdrop for his examination of the role the tulip’s beauty played in wildly influencing human behavior to both the benefit and detriment of the plant (the markings that made the tulip so attractive to the Dutch were actually caused by a virus). His excellent discussion of the potato combines a history of the plant with a prime example of how biotechnology is changing our relationship to nature. As part of his research, Pollan visited the Monsanto company headquarters and planted some of their NewLeaf brand potatoes in his garden--seeds that had been genetically engineered to produce their own insecticide. Though they worked as advertised, he made some startling discoveries, primarily that the NewLeaf plants themselves are registered as a pesticide by the EPA and that federal law prohibits anyone from reaping more than one crop per seed packet. And in a interesting aside, he explains how a global desire for consistently perfect French fries contributes to both damaging monoculture and the genetic engineering necessary to support it.

Pollan has read widely on the subject and elegantly combines literary, historical, philosophical, and scientific references with engaging anecdotes, giving readers much to ponder while weeding their gardens." (From the Amazon.com listing, to which the author directs visitors to his Website.)

"Michael Pollan is a sensualist and a wonderful, funny storyteller. He is so engaging that his profound environmental messages are effortlessly communicated. He makes you fall in love with Nature." —Alice Waters, founder and owner of Chez Panisse restaurant and director of the Chez Panisse Foundation in Berkeley, California.

Links of Interest: The Authors’ Website lists a variety of information on his articles, books, links, reviews and interviews.

See also "The Omnivore’s Dilemma," by Michael Pollan.

Written by Neva Hassanein, Professor of Environmental Studies, University of Montana.

Published by University of Nebraska Press, publishers of Bison Books.

"Changing the Way America Farms traces the manner in which alternative farmers have developed and exchanged their own personal, local knowledge as a basis for moving toward an agricultural system that is ecologically sound, economically viable, and socially just. Neva Hassanein studies the patterns of local and regional networks in Wisconsin that sprang up to disseminate new and viable agricultural methods. She argues that these networks have in many ways become the foundation of the sustainable agriculture movement.

Hassanein focuses on two organizations: the Ocooch Grazers Network, a group of dairy farmers who practice intensive rotational grazing, and the Wisconsin Women’s Sustainable Farming Network. The different lived experiences of particular members in each group shaped the ways local knowledge was generated and exchanged.

Hassanein considers the broader implications of this kind of local-level, collective activity centered around the creation and exchange of agricultural knowledge. In rejecting the all–knowing expertise characteristic of scientific reports and extension services, network members instead created heterogeneous systems based on the exchange of information among a community of farming practitioners. These informal networks do not completely reject agricultural science, but they do suggest ways of democratizing knowledge production for sustainable agriculture."

"Neva Hassanein has a doctorate in environmental studies and is currently teaching in the Environmental Studies Program at the University of Montana." (From the publisher.)

Written by Gary Paul Nabhan.

Published by W. W. Norton & Company.

"Gary Paul Nabhan reminds us that eating close to home is not just a matter of convenience—it is an act of deep cultural and environmental significance."

(From the second/paperback edition Webpage.)

"In our molecules and in our dreams, we really are what we eat. Eating close to home is not just a matter of convenience—it is an act of deeply sensual, cultural, and environmental significance. Gary Paul Nabhan’s experience with food permeates his life as a first-generation Lebanese American, as an avid gardener and subsistence hunter-gatherer, as an ethnobotanist preserving seed diversity, and as an activist devoted to recovering native food traditions to restore the health of Native Americans in the Southwest. To rediscover what it might mean to ‘know your foodshed,’ he spent a year trying to eat only foods grown, fished, or gathered within two hundred miles of his home—with surprising results. In Coming Home to Eat, Nabhan draws these experiences together in a book that is a culmination of his life’s work—and a vibrant portrait of the essential cultural relations to the foods that truly nourish us, affirming our bonds to family, community, landscape, and season."

(From the first/hardcover edition Webpage.)

"Issuing a profound and engaging...passionate call to us to re-think our food industry" —Jim Harrison, author of "The Raw and the Cooked."

"Amazing and eloquent....Nabhan makes us understand how finding and eating local foods connects us deeply and sensually." —Alice Waters, founder and owner of Chez Panisse restaurant and director of the Chez Panisse Foundation in Berkeley, California.

Please note there are two editions of this book. The November, 2002 "Reprint Edition" (paperback, 336 pages) is referred to here. The first edition is in hardback, 288 pages, November, 2001.

Written by Brian Halweil.

Published by Worldwatch Institute.

"In ’Eat Here’, author Brian Halweil points to a surging local food movement that is rediscovering homegrown pleasures and changing the way we eat."

"With ’Eat Here’ you can: Discover why eating local food is one of the most significant choices you can make for the planet and for yourself. Find out why food shipped over long–distances can be dangerous. Get practical advice on finding homegrown pleasures amid the same old standard choices. Learn why local food is better for your health, small farmers, and the environment." (From the publisher.)

"Founded by Lester Brown in 1974, the Worldwatch Institute offers a unique blend of interdisciplinary research, global focus, and accessible writing that has made it a leading source of information on the interactions among key environmental, social, and economic trends. Our work revolves around the transition to an environmentally sustainable and socially just society — and how to achieve it." (From the publisher.)

Written by Marc Lappé and Britt Bailey.

Published by Island Press.

This book covers "Global Issues, Sustainable Agriculture, Environmental Health & Justice, Environmental Policy and Law."

"Engineering the Farm offers a wide-ranging examination of the social and ethical issues surrounding the production and consumption of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), with leading thinkers and activists taking a broad theoretical approach to the subject. Topics covered include: the historical roots of the anti-biotechnology movement, ethical issues involved in introducing genetically altered crops, questions of patenting and labeling, the ‘precautionary principle’ and its role in the regulation of GMOs, effects of genetic modification on the world’s food supply, ecological concerns and impacts on traditional varieties of domesticated crops, and potential health effects of GMOs.

Contributors argue that the scope, scale, and size of the present venture in crop modification is so vast and intensive that a thoroughgoing review of agricultural biotechnology must consider its global, moral, cultural, and ecological impacts as well as its effects on individual consumers. Throughout, they argue that more research is needed on genetically modified food and that consumers are entitled to specific information about how food products have been developed.

Despite its increasing role in worldwide food production, little has been written about the broader social and ethical implications of GMOs. Engineering the Farm offers a unique approach to the subject for academics, activists, and policymakers involved with questions of environmental policy, ethics, agriculture, environmental health, and related fields." (From the publisher.)

Written by Farmer John Peterson and Angelic Organics

Published by Gibbs Smith Publisher (Layton, Utah)

Angelic Organics

"Join the real food revolution with a true pioneer in the Community Supported Agriculture movement—Farmer John Peterson and his farm, Angelic Organics. Angelic Organics is a leader in community supported gardening and biodynamics, helping to connect people with their food, their farmers, and healthful living. This is the companion book to the critically acclaimed documentary "The Real Dirt on Farmer John" (directed by Taggart Siegel), which has won awards at major film festivals worldwide. This companion volume features exciting recipes grouped by season and by vegetable, provides cooking tips, serving suggestions, and evocative descriptions of each dish, and teaches readers new ways to use a surplus of basil, cabbage, tomatoes, or whatever veggie is plentiful. Also included in the book is an Illustrated Vegetable Identification Guide and tips on long–term vegetable and herb storage and preservation methods (such as freezing, drying, canning, and lactic acid fermentation). Whether you grow your own veggies, spend lingering mornings at the farmer’s market, or pluck your produce from shelves at the local supermarket, Farmer John’s Cookbook is an invaluable resource on growing, cooking, and storing real food and a guidebook to starting a veggie revolution in your hometown. " (From the publisher.)

See the film "The Real Dirt on Farmer John" listed in the Slow Food Utah Website.

Written by Eric Schlosser.

Published by Penguin Books Ltd.

"You are what you eat. But do you really know what you’re eating?"

"Britain eats more fast food than any other country in Europe. Rates of obesity and food poisoning spiral upwards, but it seems we just can’t get enough of those tasty burgers and fries. This myth–shattering book tells the story of America and the world’s infatuation with fast food, from its origins in 1950s southern California to the global triumph of a handful of burger and fried chicken chains. In a meticulously researched and powerfully argued account, Eric Schlosser visits the labs where scientists re–create the smell and taste of everything – from cooked meat to fresh strawberries; talks to the workers at abattoirs with some of the worst safety records in the world; explains exactly where the meat comes from and just why the fries taste so good; and looks at the way the fast food industry is transforming not only our diet but our landscape, economy, workforce and culture."

"Both funny and terrifying, Fast Food Nation will make you think, but more than that, it might make you realize you don’t want a quick bite after all." (From the publisher.)

See the movie of the same name, listed in the Slow Food Utah Website.

"Fast Food Nation," the movie on DVD, is set to release March 6, 2007. This DVD release will include the DVD release of "The Meatrix" films. Visit The Meatrix – News or Sustainable Table for more information.

Written by Daniel Imhoff. Foreword by Michael Pollan.

Published by University of California Press, March, 2007.

"The Farm Bill is perhaps the single most significant land use legislation enacted in the United States, yet many citizens remain unaware of its power and scope. With subsidies ballooning toward $25 billion dollars per year, the Farm Bill largely dictates who grows what crops, on what acreage, and under what conditions--all with major impacts on the country's rural economies, health and nutrition, national security, and biodiversity. As debate and wrangling over the 2007 Farm Bill intensifies, Food Fight offers a highly informative and visually engaging overview of legislation that literally shapes our food system, our bodies, and our future." (From the publisher.)

Written by Marion Nestle, Ph.D., M.P.H..

Published by University of California Press (September 30, 2003).

"We all witness, in advertising and on supermarket shelves, the fierce competition for our food dollars. In this engrossing exposé, Marion Nestle goes behind the scenes to reveal how the competition really works and how it affects our health. The abundance of food in the United States–enough calories to meet the needs of every man, woman, and child twice over–has a downside. Our overefficient food industry must do everything possible to persuade people to eat more–more food, more often, and in larger portions–no matter what it does to waistlines or well–being." (From the books website.)

Foriegn Language Editions: "Food Politics" Chinese edition: Social Sciences Academic Press, Beijing, (Liu Wenjun et al, translators, simplified characters) 2004, and "Food Politics" Japanese edition: Tokyo: Tuttle–Mori Agency, Inc, 2005.

Written by Eliot Coleman.

Published by Chelsea Green Publishing Company.

"If you love the joys of eating home-garden vegetables but always thought those joys had to stop at the end of summer, this book is for you. Eliot Coleman introduces the surprising fact that most of the United States has more winter sunshine than the south of France. He shows how North American gardeners can successfully use that sun to raise a wide variety of traditional winter vegetables in backyard cold frames and plastic covered tunnel greenhouses without supplementary heat. Coleman expands upon his own experiences with new ideas learned on a winter-vegetable pilgrimage across the ocean to the acknowledged kingdom of vegetable cuisine, the southern part of France, which lies on the 44th parallel, the same latitude as his farm in Maine.

This story of sunshine, weather patterns, old limitations and expectations, and new realities is delightfully innovative in the best gardening tradition. Four-Season Harvest will have you feasting on fresh produce from your garden all through the winter.

Eliot Coleman presents simple, inexpensive designs for cold frames, unheated mobile greenhouses, and root cellars in this home garden best seller. Chapters include: The Living Soil; Compost; Planning and Preparing; Planting and Cultivating; Cold Frames; Tunnels; Root Cellar and Indoor Harvesting; Plants and Pests; Growing tips for 50 Vegetable Crops; and Resources."

"Barbara Damrosch is co-owner, with her husband Eliot Coleman, of Four Season Farm, an experimental market garden in Harborside, Maine, which produces vegetables year-round, and has become a nationally recognized model of small-scale sustainable agriculture." (From the book’s Website.)

See also "Winter Harvest Manual" by Eliot Coleman, listed in the Slow Food Utah Website.

Written by Anna Lappé and Bryant Terry.

Published by Tarcher.

"Upset by Fast Food Nation? Grossed out by Super Size Me? Want to do something about it? Take action Anna Lappé and chef Bryant Terry, as they dish up food for thought, tips for setting up your organic kitchen, and tantalizing menus. Celebrate the future of real food... and getcha grub on!

Anna Lappé is a nationally recognized author, public speaker, and cofounder of the Small Planet Institute and Small Planet Fund. She is the coauthor of the national bestseller Hope’s Edge: The Next Diet for a Small Planet. Anna lives in Brooklyn.

Bryant Terry is a chef, food justice activist, and founding director of b–healthy! (Build Healthy Eating and Lifestyles to Help Youth), a New York City–based nonprofit organization. Bryant lives in Oakland." (From the book’s Website.)

[Amazon.com] Book Description: "A savvy and practical guide to organic eating for urban dwellers. In the past few years, organic food has moved out of the patchouli–scented aisles of hippie food co–ops and into three–quarters of conventional grocery stores. Concurrent with this growth has been increased consumer awareness of the social and health–related issues around organic eating, independent farming, and food production. Combining a straight–to–the–point exposé about organic foods (organic doesn’t mean fresh, natural, or independently produced) and the how–to’s of creating an affordable, easy–touse organic kitchen, Grub brings organics home to urban dwellers. It gives the reader compelling arguments for buying organic food, revealing the pesticide industry’s influence on government regulation and the extent of its pollution in our waterways and bodies.

With an inviting recipe section, Grub also offers the millions of people who buy organics fresh ideas and easy ways to cook with them. Grub’s recipes, twenty–four meals oriented around the seasons, appeal to eighteen– to forty–year–olds who are looking for fun and simple meals. In addition, the book features resource lists (including music playlists to cook by), unusual and illuminating graphics, and every variety of do–it yourself tip sheets, charts, and checklists. (From Amazon.com’s listing for this title.)

Written by Jane Goodall, Gary McAvoy and Gail Hudson.

Published by Warner Books.

"An exploration of the global meaning of food and what all of us can do to exercise power over the food industry and, ultimately, our environment." (From the publisher.)

"It Doesn’t Take Much to Turn the Tide...The renowned scientist who fundamentally changed the way we view primates and our relationship with the animal kingdom now turns her attention to an incredibly important and deeply personal issue taking a stand for a more sustainable world. In this provocative and encouraging book, Jane Goodall sounds a clarion call to Western society, urging us to take a hard look at the food we produce and consume, and showing us how easy it is to create positive change."

With a firm but gentle touch, Dr. Goodall paints a global landscape in which corporations own the rainwater, patent the earth’s seeds, and give birth to mysterious "Frankenfoods". This isn’t science fiction; it’s reality. But it’s a reality we can repair. Offering her hopeful, stirring vision, Goodall argues convincingly that each individual can make a difference."

"Most valuable of all, Dr. Jane offers simple strategies each of us can employ to foster a sustainable society. By using water filters, eating organic, shopping at farmers’ markets, drinking shade–grown coffee, and taking other mindful measures, we can all do our part to reclaim our food, our health, and our planet. And we can start now." (From the books’ Website.)

Written by Michael Pollan.

Published by The Penguin Press HC.

"In this groundbreaking book, one of America’s most fascinating, original, and elegant writers turns his own omnivorous mind to the seemingly straightforward question of what we should have for dinner. To find out, Pollan follows each of the food chains that sustain us—industrial food, organic or alternative food, and food we forage ourselves—from the source to a final meal, and in the process develops a definitive account of the American way of eating. His absorbing narrative takes us from Iowa cornfields to food-science laboratories, from feedlots and fast-food restaurants to organic farms and hunting grounds, always emphasizing our dynamic coevolutionary relationship with the handful of plant and animal species we depend on. Each time Pollan sits down to a meal, he deploys his unique blend of personal and investigative journalism to trace the origins of everything consumed, revealing what we unwittingly ingest and explaining how our taste for particular foods and flavors reflects our evolutionary inheritance.

The surprising answers Pollan offers to the simple question posed by this book have profound political, economic, psychological, and even moral implications for all of us. Beautifully written and thrillingly argued, The Omnivore’s Dilemma promises to change the way we think about the politics and pleasure of eating. For anyone who reads it, dinner will never again look, or taste, quite the same." (From the book’s Website.)

"Michael Pollan is a voice of reason, a journalist/philosopher who forages in the overgrowth of our schizophrenic food culture. He’s the kind of teacher we probably all wish we had: one who triggers the little explosions of insight that change the way we eat and the way we live." —Alice Waters, founder and owner of Chez Panisse restaurant and director of the Chez Panisse Foundation in Berkeley, California. (From the book’s Website.)

Links of Interest: The Authors’ Website lists a variety of information on his articles, books, links, reviews and interviews.

See also "Botany of Desire," by Michael Pollan, listed in the Slow Food Utah Website.

Written by Corby Kummer, Foreword by Eric Schlosser.

Introduction by Carlo Petrini & Photographs by Susie Cushner.

Published by Chronicle Books.

"In a world increasingly dominated by fast food, The ’Pleasures of Slow Food’ celebrates heritage recipes, artisan traditions, and the rapid evolution of a movement to make good food a part of everyday life. Slow Food is defined by how it’s made: if it’s allowed to ripen before it’s harvested, prepared by hand and enjoyed among friends, it’s Slow Food. It’s a philosophy, a way to farm, a way to cook...a way to live. It’s also the name of a 65,000–strong international movement, numbering among its members some of the most distinguished names in the food world. The Pleasures of Slow Food showcases over 60 recipes from the world’s most innovative chefs for dishes that feature local handmade ingredients and traditional cooking methods. Premier food writer Corby Kummer also profiles Slow Food’s luminaries, such as Italian cheese maker Roberto Rubino and Canadian Karl Kaiser, who makes sweet ice–wine. Pairing fantastic recipes with engaging stories, The Pleasures of Slow Food brings the best of the food world to the kitchen table." (From the publisher.)

Written by Alisa Smith and J.B. MacKinnon.

Published by The Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House.

NEW: Available April 24, 2007.

"The remarkable, amusing and inspiring adventures of a Canadian couple who make a year–long attempt to eat foods grown and produced within a 100–mile radius of their apartment.

When Alisa Smith and James MacKinnon learned that the average ingredient in a North American meal travels 1,500 miles from farm to plate, they decided to launch a simple experiment to reconnect with the people and places that produced what they ate. For one year, they would only consume food that came from within a 100–mile radius of their Vancouver apartment. The 100–Mile Diet was born.

The couple’s discoveries sometimes shook their resolve. It would be a year without sugar, Cheerios, olive oil, rice, Pizza Pops, beer, and much, much more. Yet local eating has turned out to be a life lesson in pleasures that are always close at hand. They met the revolutionary farmers and modern–day hunter–gatherers who are changing the way we think about food. They got personal with issues ranging from global economics to biodiversity. They called on the wisdom of grandmothers, and immersed themselves in the seasons. They discovered a host of new flavours, from gooseberry wine to sunchokes to turnip sandwiches, foods that they never would have guessed were on their doorstep.

The 100–Mile Diet struck a deeper chord than anyone could have predicted, attracting media and grassroots interest that spanned the globe. The 100–Mile Diet: A Year of Local Eating tells the full story, from the insights to the kitchen disasters, as the authors transform from megamart shoppers to self–sufficient urban pioneers. The 100–Mile Diet is a pathway home for anybody, anywhere." (From the publisher’s Website.)

"Alisa Smith, a Vancouver–based freelance writer who has been nominated for a National Magazine Award, has been published in Outside, Explore, Canadian Geographic, Reader’s Digest, Utne, and many other periodicals. The books Way Out There and Liberalized feature her work.

J.B. MacKinnon is the author of Dead Man in Paradise, which won the 2006 Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Non–fiction. His feature reportage on issues ranging from African prisons to anarchism in America has earned three National Magazine Awards." (From the publisher’s Website.)

Call me naive, but I never knew that flour would be struck from our 100–Mile Diet. Wheat products are just so ubiquitous, "the staff of life," that I had hazily imagined the stuff must be grown everywhere. But of course: I had never seen a field of wheat anywhere close to Vancouver, and my mental images of late–afternoon light falling on golden fields of grain were all from my childhood on the Canadian prairies. What I was able to find was Anita’s Organic Grain & Flour Mill, about 60 miles up the Fraser River valley. I called, and learned that Anita’s nearest grain suppliers were at least 800 miles away by road. She sounded sorry for me. Would it be a year until I tasted a pie? (From The 100–Mile Diet.)

Written by Carl Honoré.

Published by Harper Collins.

"In this engaging and entertaining exploration, award–winning journalist and rehabilitated speedaholic Carl Honoré details our perennial love affair with efficiency and speed in a perfect blend of anecdotal reportage, history, and intellectual inquiry. In Praise of Slowness is the first comprehensive look at the worldwide Slow movements making their way into the mainstream — in offices, factories, neighborhoods, kitchens, hospitals, concert halls, bedrooms, gyms, and schools. Defining a movement that is here to stay, this spirited manifesto will make you completely rethink your relationship with time." (From the publisher.)

Written by George B. Pyle.

Published by Public Affairs Books.

"In Raising Less Corn, More Hell George Pyle shows us how the famous breadbasket of America is being bought up by large corporations, who produce less food per acre than the small farmer, push those farmers further into debt, pollute the earth and wear out the soil, and even license the very stuff of life: grain and seed. Meanwhile those farmers are promised a better future if they play ball with the corporations, but caught between the brutal new market and antiquated government support systems, they are forced to grow too much of the wrong crops – crops that will be fed to animals who cannot tolerate them, shipped as dubious ’aid’ to struggling countries, drive the farmer’s take–home pay ever downward, and make us all fatter."

"Pyle, native Kansan and editorialist for the Salt Lake Tribune, delivers a powerful, learned and lively attack on the status quo and shows us how unless we take a close look at our larder — right now — we risk turning much of rural America into a permanent environmental and economic wasteland. We are feeding ourselves and the rest of the world too much trash, he says, at environmental, ecological, and even security costs that are too high to pay." (From the publisher.)

A Note from GEORGE B. PYLE: "After more than twenty years of committing journalism in Kansas, I was increasingly aware of the story I had not written. Agriculture, once the backbone of the state’s economy and center of its soul, was transforming before our eyes from the ideal of the independent family farmer to an industrial form of protein production. And very few people, even among those whose lives were being uprooted, seemed to think there was anything wrong with that. Certainly, there wasn’t any point in trying to stop it. It was progress. But there was a small but insistent chorus of voices in the background telling me that I was missing the story. Industrial food production, they warned, is not progress. It is endangering not only the rural way of life, but also the economy of the entire world, the ecology of our continent and the security of our nation. This book is an expression of how I found those voices to be the true ones, written, I hope, with the urgency of someone who has just discovered he’s wasted twenty years that should have been used to tell this story to the world."

Compiled and Edited by Gary Paul Nabhan.

Published in 2006. Distributed to the book trade by Oregon State University Press.

From the foreword by Debra Sohm Lawson, Director of Food and Farms Market Connections, Ecotrust: "Renewing Salmon Nation’s Food Traditions describes a treasure trove of regional plants and species — some at risk, others recovering. We hope that it can serve as both a reference guide and a historical inventory of species that were once abundant in Salmon Nation."

"At the back, this handbook also features a resource guide — a listing of nurseries and seed companies serving the region. With this information in hand, it is up to us to bring these fruits, vegetables, herbs, and shellfish back into widespread cultivation. Farmers can help by growing these varieties, and chefs and retailers can join in by featuring them on restaurant menus and at grocery store.

"The dedication of the RAFT consortium teaches us that with effort, education and optimism, endangered foods and food traditions can be revitalized, sustained and, just as importantly, savored."

—Devon Mihesuah, author of Recovering Our Ancestors’ Gardens: Indigenous Recipes and Guide to Diet and Fitness.

"The Pacific Northwest is home to myriad culinary treasures. Renewing Salmon Nation’s Food Traditions presents a tally of our region’s hugely diverse comestibles."

—Greg Higgins, chef/owner of Higgins Restaurant & Bar.

Written by Marion Nestle, Ph.D., M.P.H..

Published by University of California Press (March 3, 2003).

"Food safety is a matter of intense public concern, and for good reason. Millions of annual cases of food "poisonings" raise alarm not only about the food served in restaurants and fast–food outlets but also about foods bought in supermarkets. The introduction of genetically modified foods—immediately dubbed "Frankenfoods" –only adds to the general sense of unease. Finally, the events of September 11, 2001, heightened fears by exposing the vulnerability of food and water supplies to attacks by bioterrorists. How concerned should we be about such problems? Who is responsible for preventing them? Who benefits from ignoring them? Who decides?"

"Marion Nestle, author of the critically acclaimed Food Politics, argues that ensuring safe food involves more than washing hands or cooking food to higher temperatures. It involves politics. When it comes to food safety, billions of dollars are at stake, and industry, government, and consumers collide over issues of values, economics, and political power—and not always in the public interest. Although the debates may appear to be about science, Nestle maintains that they really are about control: Who decides when a food is safe? She demonstrates how powerful food industries oppose safety regulations, deny accountability, and blame consumers when something goes wrong, and how century–old laws for ensuring food safety no longer protect our food supply."

"Accessible, informed, and even–handed, Safe Food is for anyone who cares how food is produced and wants to know more about the real issues underlying today’s headlines." (From the books website.)

Foriegn Language Edition: "Safe Food" Chinese edition: Social Science Academic Press, Beijing (Huang Yu–Tong et al, translators, simplified characters), 2004.

Written by Jeffrey Smith. Forward by Frances Moore Lappé

Published by YES! Books / Institute for Responsible Technology, Fairfield, Iowa.

"Is Your Food Safe? What the biotech industry doesn’t want you to know: The explosive exposé Seeds of Deception reveals how industry manipulation and political collusion–not sound science–allow dangerous genetically engineered food into your daily diet. Company research is rigged, alarming evidence of health dangers is covered up, and intense political pressure applied.

Chapters read like adventure stories: – Scientists were offered bribes or threatened. Evidence was stolen. Data was omitted or distorted. – Government employees who complained were harassed, stripped of responsibilities, or fired. – Laboratory rats fed a GM crop developed stomach lesions and seven of the 40 died within two weeks. The crop was approved without further tests. – When a top scientist tried to alert the public about his alarming discoveries, he lost his job and was silenced with threats of a lawsuit.

Read the actual internal memos by FDA scientists, warning of toxins, allergies, and new diseases–all ignored by their superiors, including a former attorney for Monsanto. Discover how industry studies are designed to avoid finding problems. Learn why the FDA withheld information from Congress after a genetically modified supplement killed nearly a hundred people and disabled thousands.

Eating such experimental food is gambling with your health. Find out how you can protect yourself and your family." (From the publisher.)

Downloadable Brochure (PDF Document)

Also by the same author:

Edited by Carlo Petrini, with Ben Watson and Slow Food Editore.

From the forward by Deborah Madison: "Slow Food is a very big creature, large enough to accommodate more than one point of view as to what it is exactly. Like the blind men patting the elephant to determine its nature, anyone who’s drawn to Slow Food can probably find what they’re looking for based on their own interests. To the gastronome, Slow Food might have to do with artisanal foods and wines. To the person seeking a tempo of life that is more in step with life’s natural rhythms, unlike America’s present fast–paced model, Slow Food offers a sympathetic response. For those whose concerns run to the historical aspects of food, traditional methods of cheese making might be of particular interest, or the examination of traditional foods and food methods found in different regions of the country. Those whose historical quests are more aligned with animals and plants will find that Slow Food, through its Ark of Taste initiative, provides a place to actively debate the merits of old breeds, from turkeys to sheep, or oysters to apples, and to become actively involved with their preservation. If your concerns are with the politics of social change, you may find yourself in harmony with Slow’s commitment to land stewardship and food that’s grown by sound and sustainable methods. And all seekers join hands at the table, for Slow Food sees ’the kitchen and the table as centers of pleasure, culture, and community.’ The lens through which Slow Food views the world of food is a wide one indeed."

Written by Sarah Weiner, Coordinating Editor Renato Sardo.

Published by Slow Food, February, 2005.

"Provides a consice overview of Slow Food, the philosophy, members and structure, taste education, Foundation for Biodiversity, a section on linking producers and consumers, FAWs, history, who’s who, contact information and a listing of membership benefits."

From The Slow Food Companion: "It is useless to force the rhythms of life. The art of living is about learning how to give time to each and every thing." Carlo Petrini, Founder of Slow Food USA.

"The Slow Food Companion is the 46–page, full–color booklet provided to all our members when they first join. It offers a straightfoward, in–depth explanation of our organization, philosophy and activities in a handy format." Slow Food International

The book is also featured in the "About Slow Food" section of the Slow Food Utah Website.

Written by Carlo Petrini. Foreword by Alice Waters.

Publish Date: May, 2007

by Publisher: Rizzoli Ex Libris, New York (Slow Food USA)

About this Book: "Slow Food Nation will change the way you think about food! Slow Food founder Carlo Petrini describes how we can take back control of our food by outlining three central principles: food must be good (healthful and delicious); it must be clean (produced sustainably in ways that respect the environment), and it must be fair (produced with respect for social justice)."

"A worthy successor to Brillat–Savarin, Carlo Petrini has reinvented the idea of gastronomy for the twenty–first century. An important book." –Michael Pollan, author of The Botany of Desire and The Omnivore’s Dilemma.

"Carlo Petrini is one of the most important thinkers of our time, not only about what to eat, but also about how to live. This book is essential reading for anyone who cares about social justice, the environment, and the fundamentals of a good meal." –Eric Schlosser, author of Fast Food Nation.

"This is the argument I have been waiting for—an irrefutable demonstration that making the right decision about food can change the world." –Alice Waters, from the foreword.

About the Author: Carlo Petrini is the founder and driving force of Slow Food and was recently acclaimed as a great innovator in Time magazine’s list of ‘European Heroes’." (From the publisher.)

Slow Food Nation will publish in early May and will be available to ship to customers starting May 10, 2007.  Please visit www.slowfoodusa.org to find out where the Slow Food Nation tour will be in May.

Written by Carlo Petrini with Gigi Padovani.

Published October 2006 by Rizzoli New York (Slow Food USA)

From the inside cover: "The setting is Rome, 1986. In the historic Piazza di Spagna, McDonald’s opens a franchise. A small group, led by Carlo Petrini, decides to issue a manifesto in protest. It’s the start of a revolution, the Slow Food revolution. Today, the Slow Food organization counts more than eighty thousand members around the world, dedicated to reviving the pleasures of the table. To slow down, to know where one’s food comes from, to preserve the taste of real food—this is the mission. To that end the movement promotes agricultural biodiversity, sustainable farming, local producers, and heritage foodways."

"Slow Food Revolution tells the fascinating story of how the international Slow Food movement sprang from such a small seed. Equal parts gastronome and conservationist, Carlo Petrini started with a diversified grassroots approach that included a pirate radio station, a cooperative food store, and a line of gourmet guidebooks. Eventually Slow Food struck out into the rest of Europe and established the University of Gastronomic Sciences and the Terra Madre events. Included here are testimonies from such notable figures as the chef Alice Waters and His Royal Highness, The Prince of Wales. The rise of Slow Food is an inspiration, not just for gourmets, but for anyone who seeks to make the world a better place."

"Also featured in the book, for the first time in print, is a complete catalogue of the special foods that Slow Food protects though its Presidia projects. From the Cape May Salt Oyster to Moraccan Argan Oil, these are heirloom varieties and heritage breeds endangered by the onslaught of fast food homogeneity. In tantalizing descriptions of the more than three hundred delicacies from all over the world, you get a taste of what Slow Food is all about —rediscovered the flavors of regional cooking."

Co–editors: Marion Nestle, Ph.D., M.P.H. and L. Beth Dixon, Ph.D., M.P.H.

Published by McGraw–Hill/Dushkin, 2003.

"Taking Sides presents current issues in a debate–style format designed to stimulate student interest and develop critical thinking skills. Each issue is framed with an issue summary, an issue introduction, and a postscript. The pro and con essays represent the arguments of leading scholars and commentators in their fields." (From the books website.)

"More information is available on this edition of the "Taking Sides" series. Instructor’s Manual to accompany "Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Controversial Issues in Food and Nutrition" is available for this same location.

Selected Web Sites for "Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Controversial Issues in Food and Nutrition"

Written by Steve Ettlinger.

Published by Hudson Street Press; March 2007.

"A pop–science journey into the surprising ingredients found in dozens of common packaged foods, using the Twinkie label as a guide.

Like most Americans, Steve Ettlinger eats processed foods. And, like most consumers, he often reads the ingredients label—without a clue as to what most of it means. So, when his young daughter asked, "Daddy, what’s polysorbate 60?" while eating ice cream at the beach on a hot summer day, he was at a loss—and determined to find out.

In this fascinating exploration into the curious world of packaged foods, Twinkie, Deconstructed takes us from phosphate mines in Idaho to corn fields in Iowa, from gypsum mines in Oklahoma to oil fields in China, to demystify some of America’s most common processed food ingredients—where they come from, how they are made, how they are used—and why. Beginning at the source (hint: they’re often more closely linked to rocks and petroleum than any of the four food groups), Ettlinger reveals how each Twinkie ingredient goes through the process of being crushed, baked, fermented, refined, and/or reacted into a totally unrecognizable goo or powder with a strange name—all for the sake of creating a simple snack cake.

An insightful, entertaining exploration of modern food industry, if you’ve ever wondered what you’re eating when you consume foods containing mono and diglycerides or calcium sulfate (the latter, a food–grade equivalent of plaster of Paris), this book is for you." (From the publisher’s Website.)

"At the heart of the book is the fundamental question: why is it you can bake a cake at home with as few as six ingredients, but Twinkies require 39? And why do many of them seem to bear so little resemblance to actual food? The answer: To stay fresh on a grocery–store shelf, Twinkies can’t contain anything that might spoil, like milk, cream or butter. Once you remove such real ingredients, something has to take their place—and cellulose gum, lecithin and sodium stearoyl lactylate are a good start. Add the fact that industrial quantities of batter have to pump easily through automated tubes into cake molds, and you begin to get the idea." (From March 5, 2007 Newsweek article.)

Written by David Kamp.

Published by Broadway Books.

"The United States of Arugula is a book about one of the happiest developments of our time: the quantum leap forward in food choice, food quality, and culinary sophistication in America in the last sixty years or so. I was born in 1966, when American adults were in thrall to convenience foods and NASA chic (you know, Tang orange–drink powder and those Pillsbury food sticks that looked like Slim Jims and tasted like Tootsie Rolls), and I’ve been fortunate to witness, over the course of my lifetime, a radical refurbishment of my family’s larder and just about everyone else’s. We have a greater variety of ingredients and products available to us, representing a wider–than–ever range of ethnic influences (it’s shocking how literally white–bread American cookery was in the midcentury), and if we care to, we can eat better, healthier, and more flavorful food than our ancestors could have dreamed.

"The book examines not only the social forces that effected this transformation, but the visionaries who changed American food for the better: among them James Beard, Julia Child, Craig Claiborne, and Alice Waters. Too often, these individuals have been portrayed as jolly or silly creatures on the margins of American culture, mere "food people." I think they don’t get their due. In my view, their contributions to American life are on a par with those of Americans who innovated in other fields: Mark Twain, Susan B. Anthony, Charles Ives, Orson Welles, Walt Disney, Charlie Parker, Elvis. (Well, maybe not Elvis.) What’s more, food people are interesting people, as passionate, brilliant, charismatic, contrary, and kooky as leaders in other creative fields. Their stories are rich, and they are told in The United States of Arugula." (From the author’s Website.)

"One day we woke up and realized that our "macaroni" had become "pasta," that our Wonder Bread had been replaced by organic whole wheat, that sushi was fast food, and that our tomatoes were heirlooms. How did all this happen, and who made it happen? The United States of Arugula is the rollicking, revealing chronicle of how gourmet eating in America went from obscure to pervasive, thanks to the contributions of some outsized, opinionated iconoclasts who couldn’t abide the status quo.

Vanity Fair writer David Kamp chronicles this amazing transformation, from the overcooked vegetables and scary gelatin salads of yore to our current heyday of free–range chickens, extra–virgin olive oil, Iron Chef, Whole Foods, Starbucks, and that breed of human known as the "foodie." In deft fashion, Kamp conjures up vivid images of the "Big Three," the lodestars who led us out of this culinary wilderness: James Beard, the hulking, bald, flamboyant Oregonian who made the case for American cookery; Julia Child, the towering, warbling giantess who demystified French cuisine for Americans; and Craig Claiborne, the melancholy, sexually confused Mississippian who all but invented food journalism at the New York Times. The story continues onward with candid, provocative commentary from the food figures who prospered in the Big Three’s wake: Alice Waters and Jeremiah Tower of Berkeley’s Chez Panisse, Wolfgang Puck and his L.A. acolytes, the visionary chefs we know by one name (Emeril, Daniel, Mario, Jean–Georges), the "Williams" in Williams–Sonoma, the "Niman" in Niman Ranch, both Dean and DeLuca, and many others.

A rich, frequently uproarious stew of culinary innovation, flavor revelations, balsamic pretensions, taste–making luminaries, food politics, and kitchen confidences, The United States of Arugula is the remarkable history of the cultural success story of our era." (From the publisher’s Website.)

Co-written by Peter Singer and Jim Mason.

Published by Rodale Press.

"A thought provoking look at how what we eat profoundly affects all living things and how we can make more ethical food choices.

Peter Singer, the groundbreaking ethicist who ‘may be the most controversial philosopher alive’ (The New Yorker), now sets his critical sights on the food we buy and eat: where it comes from, how it’s produced, and whether it was raised humanely. Teaming up once again with attorney Jim Mason, his coauthor on the acclaimed Animal Factories, Singer explores the impact our food choices have on humans, animals, and the environment.

In The Way We Eat, Singer and Mason examine the eating habits of three American families with very different diets. They track down the sources of each family’s food to probe the ethical issues involved in its production and marketing. What kinds of meat are the most humane to eat? Is ‘organic’ always better? Wild fish or farmed? Recognizing that not all of us will become vegetarians, Singer and Mason offer ways to make the best food choices. As they point out: ‘You can be ethical without being fanatical.’" (From the books’ website.)

Co–editors: Marion Nestle, Ph.D., M.P.H. and L. Beth Dixon, Ph.D., M.P.H.

Published by McGraw–Hill/Dushkin, 2003.

"What to Eat is a book about how to make sensible food choices. Consider that today’s supermarket is ground zero for the food industry, a place where the giants of agribusiness compete for your purchases with profits—not health or nutrition–in mind. This book takes you on a guided tour of the supermarket, beginning in the produce section and continuing around the perimeter of the store to the dairy, meat, and fish counters, and then to the center aisles where you find the packaged foods, soft drinks, bottled waters, baby foods, and more. Along the way, it tells you just what you need to know about such matters as fresh and frozen, wild and farm–raised, organic and “natural,” and omega–3 and trans fats. It decodes food labels, nutrition and health claims, and portion sizes, and shows you how to balance decisions about food on the basis of freshness, taste, nutrition, and health, but also social and environmental issues and, of course, price." (From the books website.)

Footnotes are also available, with loads of additional information on sources, including additional Weblinks.

There is a separate "What To Eat" Website associated with "What To Eat:" that includes author, appearances, media, bookshelf, press, footnotes, resources, and contact information.

Written by Eliot Coleman.

Published by Four Season Farm.

"The traditional fresh produce season for market gardeners in the colder parts of North America begins in June and ends in September. For the past eight years, in defiance of our long, cold Maine winters, we have been developing an environmentally sound, resource efficient, and economically viable system for extending fresh vegetable production into ‘the other eight months.’ We call it the ‘winter harvest.’ Our success thus far is very encouraging. We currently sell freshly harvested salads and main course vegetables from the 1st of October until the 31st of May. This manual records our recent experiences in planning, carrying out, and fine tuning a fresh vegetable production and marketing operation on the back side of the calendar."

"Barbara Damrosch is co-owner, with her husband Eliot Coleman, of Four Season Farm, an experimental market garden in Harborside, Maine, which produces vegetables year-round, and has become a nationally recognized model of small-scale sustainable agriculture." (From the books’ Website.)

See also "Four Season Harvest" by Eliot Coleman, listed in the Slow Food Utah Website.

Written by Blake Spalding and Jennifer Castle, with Lavinia Spalding.

Foreword by Terry Tempest Williams. Photography by Eric Swanson.

Published by Provecho Press.

"With a Measure of Grace recounts with sensitivity and wit the tale of a women–owned, Buddhist–based restaurant becoming a community anchor in a small Mormon town. Within the book’s 176 beautiful, color–photographed pages, former back–country caterers and professional river chefs Blake Spalding and Jen Castle share their struggles and successes as the co–owners of Hell’s Backbone Grill. Spalding and Castle began with the goal to meld their ideas of place–based, seasonally appropriate cuisine, right livelihood, environmental ethics and social and community responsibility into a restaurant they would operate with compassion, generosity, loving kindness and grace." (From the publisher.)

Blake Spalding and Jennifer Castle are the owners and operators of Hell’s Backbone Grill, Boulder, Utah, and members of Slow Food Utah.

Written by Anya Fernald, Serena Milano, and Piero Sardo.

Published by Slow Food Editore.

The stories of Slow Food’s 65 International Presidia projects describe a world of traditional food that encompasses rare breeds and fruit and vegetable varieties, as well as handcrafted products like cheese, cured sausage and wine.