Summer Reading List from our podcast guests!
We’ve had so many amazing farmers, authors, and journalists on our show that I thought for our summer reading list I would do a round-up of their books. Thank you for supporting our farmer authors and independent bookstore owners!
A delicious alternative to the status quo when it comes to how we farm, cook, and eat
Nutrition, environmental impact, ethics, sustainability - it seems like there's no end to the food factors we must consider. At the center of the dietary storm is animal-based agriculture. Was your beef factory farmed or pasture-raised? Did your chicken free range, or was it raised in a battery cage? Have you, in short, met your meat?
Most efforts to unravel the complexities of the production and consumption of animals tend to pit meat eaters and vegetarians against each other.
In this 2nd edition of The Ethical Meat Handbook, Meredith Leigh argues that by assuming responsibility for the food on our fork and the route by which it gets there, animals can be an optimal source of food, fiber, and environmental management. This new edition covers:
Integrating animals into your garden or homestead
Step-by-step color photos for beef, pork, lamb, and poultry butchery
100+ recipes for whole-animal cooking
Culinary highlights: preparing difficult cuts, sauces, and extras
Charcuterie, including history, general science, principles, and tooling up
The economics and parameters for responsible meat production.
Eating diversely may be the most revolutionary action we can take to ensure the sustainability of our food system. The Ethical Meat Handbook 2nd Edition challenges us to take a hard look at our dietary choices, increase self-reliance, and enjoy delicious food that benefits our health and our planet.
PODCAST EPISODE
In this impressive anthology, Natalie Baszile brings together essays, poems, photographs, quotes, conversations, and first-person stories to examine black people's connection to the American land from Emancipation to today. In the 1920s, there were over one million black farmers; today there are just 45,000. Baszile explores this crisis, through the farmers' personal experiences. In their own words, middle aged and elderly black farmers explain why they continue to farm despite systemic discrimination and land loss. The Returning Generation--young farmers, who are building upon the legacy of their ancestors, talk about the challenges they face as they seek to redress issues of food justice, food sovereignty, and reparations.
These farmers are joined by other influential voices, including noted historians Analena Hope Hassberg and Pete Daniel, and award-winning author Clyde W. Ford, who considers the arrival of Africans to American shores; and James Beard Award-winning writers and Michael Twitty, reflects on black culinary tradition and its African roots. Poetry and inspirational quotes are woven into these diverse narratives, adding richness and texture, as well as stunning four-color photographs from photographers Alison Gootee and Malcom Williams, and Baszile's personal collection.
As Baszile reveals, black farming informs crucial aspects of American culture--the family, the way our national identity is bound up with the land, the pull of memory, the healing power of food, and race relations. She reminds us that the land, well-earned and fiercely protected, transcends history and signifies a home that can be tended, tilled, and passed to succeeding generations with pride. We Are Each Other's Harvest elevates the voices and stories of black farmers and people of color, celebrating their perseverance and resilience, while spotlighting the challenges they continue to face. Luminous and eye-opening, this eclectic collection helps people and communities of color today reimagine what it means to be dedicated to the soil.
In 2007 Kari Warberg Block gained a patent for the country's first botanical-based no-kill system of pest control and, in that moment, began changing the environmental landscape forever. But the road to this sort of impact didn't come without a few challenges along the way. A farm wife who once lived off the land and worked tirelessly to raise her two children, Kari had the grit and tenacity to tackle every fight that came her way. But those battles weren't just about victory. They also became about finding clarity around her purpose, her integrity, and how far she was willing to go to make a difference in the world that didn't easily want to be changed. From losing her land to losing her life, Kari shows us, through her beautiful storytelling, what it means to see life through the lens of making an impact worth leaving behind.
Gathering around the Table shows the importance of value-based decision-making as the foundation of conscious leadership, and demonstrates how navigating obstacles from a place of personal beliefs and strong morals can lead to businesses-and lives-filled with prosperous financial growth, greater social impact, and deep personal fulfillment.
Carey's journey is compelling, humbling, and gut-wrenchingly honest.
No one ever plans on being hit head-on by a drunk driver, being in unbearable physical and emotional pain, nor scheduling the necessary four years of recovery into an already super-busy family life.
"I love how you didn't view your situation as a glass half-full or half-empty - but decided maybe what you really needed was simply a new damn glass!"
Now living with long-term disabling injuries, Carey has become an expert at breaking through limitations. Join Carey as she shares her journey of self-growth through resilience, determination, and the fine art of attitude adjustments.
PODCAST EPISODE
PODCAST EPISODE DROPPING IN JULY
We love The American Farmer. We trust them to grow our food, to be part of children's nursery rhymes, to provide the economic backbone of rural communities, and to embody a version of the American dream.
At the same time, we know that "corporate farms" are disrupting the agrarian way of life that we so admire, and that we've got to do something to stop it. So what's our plan for saving the farms we love?
In Farm (and Other F Words), Sarah K Mock dismantles misconceptions about American farms and discovers what makes small family farms work, or why they don't. While exploring the intersection of farming and wealth, Mock offers an alternative perspective on American agricultural history, and outlines a path to a more equitable food system moving forward.
Calling for change, Farm (and Other F Words) tackles questions like:
Do farmers really get paid not to farm?
Are "big corporate farms" the future?
How much good has the food movement done for small family farmers?
Ultimately, Mock suggests a solution without putting the onus for change on struggling consumers and reminds us that, "the future of American agriculture is not yet decided."
Compelling book that assembles the stories and shared lessons from more than 20 women specialty dairy producers across Ohio. Created under the leadership of Abbe Turner and Madeline Turner of Lucky Penny Farm. This new publication has lasting potential for curriculum and workshop development, as well as earned income streams for both Lucky Penny and Rural Action to fund sustainable agriculture technical assistance and resource creation.
NOTE: this book is unavailable at retail outlets, it can be ordered through rural action - button links to their page.