Description

This book investigates the emergence of organic food and farming as a social movement. Using the tools of political sociology, it analyzes and explains how both people and ideas have shaped a movement that from its inception aimed to change global agriculture. Starting from the British Empire in the 1930s, where the first trans-national roots of organic farming took hold, through to the internet-mediated social protests against genetically modified crops at the end of the twentieth century, the author traces the rise to prominence of the movement. As well as providing a historical account, the book explains the movement's on-going role in fostering and organizing alternatives to the dominant intensive and industrial forms of agriculture, such as promoting local food produce and animal welfare. By considering it as a trans-national movement from its inception, aiming at cultural and social change, the book highlights what is unique about the organic movement and why it has risen only relatively recently to public attention. The author reports original research findings, focusing largely on the English-speaking world. The work is grounded in academic enquiry and theory, but also provides a narrative through which the movement can be understood by the more general interested reader.

Description

"This book is the story of the two love affairs that interrupted the trajectory of my life: one with farming—that dirty, concupiscent art—and the other with a complicated and exasperating farmer."Single, thirtysomething, working as a writer in New York City, Kristin Kimball was living life as an adventure. But she was beginning to feel a sense of longing for a family and for home. When she interviewed a dynamic young farmer, her world changed. Kristin knew nothing about growing vegetables, let alone raising pigs and cattle and driving horses. But on an impulse, smitten, if not yet in love, she shed her city self and moved to five hundred acres near Lake Champlain to start a new farm with him. The Dirty Life is the captivating chronicle of their first year on Essex Farm, from the cold North Country winter through the following harvest season—complete with their wedding in the loft of the barn. Kimball and her husband had a plan: to grow everything needed to feed a community. It was an ambitious idea, a bit romantic, and it worked. Every Friday evening, all year round, a hundred people travel to Essex Farm to pick up their weekly share of the "whole diet"—beef, pork, chicken, milk, eggs, maple syrup, grains, flours, dried beans, herbs, fruits, and forty different vegetables—produced by the farm. The work is done by draft horses instead of tractors, and the fertility comes from compost. Kimball’s vivid descriptions of landscape, food, cooking—and marriage—are irresistible. "As much as you transform the land by farming," she writes, "farming transforms you." In her old life, Kimball would stay out until four a.m., wear heels, and carry a handbag. Now she wakes up at four, wears Carhartts, and carries a pocket knife. At Essex Farm, she discovers the wrenching pleasures of physical work, learns that good food is at the center of a good life, falls deeply in love, and finally finds the engagement and commitment she craved in the form of a man, a small town, and a beautiful piece of land  

Description

Since 1942, Organic Gardening has been delivering well-researched, practical and timely information and useful products and services. As the essential resource for any gardener, it provides current and authoritative information, with a focus on making the process of gardening fun and easy.

Who Reads Organic Gardening Magazine? Organic Gardening readers are women and men who enjoy growing and eating the freshest food, want a yard that is beautiful year-round yet safe for people, pets and wildlife, and take deep satisfaction from working in harmony with nature. They rely on Organic Gardening for well-researched, in-depth reporting on the best plants to grow in their conditions, the most effective pest and weed control strategies, tips and techniques for keeping plants healthy, plus ideas for sustainable living indoors and out. What You Can Expect in Each Issue: Food: We evaluate new and heirloom varieties of tomatoes and all your favorite vegetables in our nationwide network of test gardens. And we bring you the latest research on how to grow them to the peak of flavor. Each issue also includes hints on serving them simply to show off their homegrown goodness. Landscaping: A well-maintained property enhances your home’s value and gives you a comfortable space where you can relax with family and friends. We show you how to create a yard that is filled with color and interest in all four seasons, with details on the flowers, shrubs and trees that demand little care and deliver big impact. And we offer expert suggestions for giving your yard that “designed by a pro” look. Pest and Weed Control: Toxic pesticides and weedkillers not only harm wildlife and poison our fresh water supply, they threaten the health of people and pets. Organic Gardening readers get solutions that are proven to work, but safe for all living things. Soil: The secret to success in gardening is right below your feet. Organic Gardening is the only magazine that gives its readers information they can use to build the most fertile, well-balanced and healthy soil possible. Plus, find out how easy and rewarding composting can be. Feature Articles: Test Garden Report: Each season, we grow the newest varieties in 12 locations around the country and name those that deserve space in your vegetable beds this year. We also try out tools and other gear, and highlight the products worth your money. Complete Beginner’s Guide: Everything you need to know to succeed in your first season. From how to set up your first bed to what to plant to where to shop, we take you by the hand and help you make the smartest choices. Even old hands will learn a new trick or two. Kitchen Garden Plan: Transform an ordinary vegetable bed into a practical yet attractive potager. Includes recommendations on the best crops to grow and how to plant them to help you enjoy fresh, homegrown food every day, all season long. The Time-Strapped Gardener: Hundreds of tested tips on how to get more food, beauty and pleasure from your garden, in just minutes a day. Tomatoes for Every Space: No matter how big or small your plot, we give you the varieties and strategies for growing your biggest and best harvest of tomatoes ever. Best Tasting Harvest: Get the most flavor from everything you grow with small but significant changes that make all the difference between “ah” and “blah.” Organic Roses: Yes, you can enjoy these most beautiful and fragrant of flowers without relying on noxious chemicals to protect them. An expert shares his most dependable varieties and his hints for keeping them healthy in even the worst conditions. Plant Now, Eat in Fall: Keep enjoying homegrown food even as the weather changes with this plan for summer planting and autumn harvesting. Drought Busters: Meet the tough flowers that thrive when the heat is on and the soil is parched. Four-Season Sensations: Trees and shrubs that are attractive and low-maintenance year-round and that attract colorful birds to your yard. Past Issues:

Description

"This book is the story of the two love affairs that interrupted the trajectory of my life: one with farming—that dirty, concupiscent art—and the other with a complicated and exasperating farmer."Single, thirtysomething, working as a writer in New York City, Kristin Kimball was living life as an adventure. But she was beginning to feel a sense of longing for a family and for home. When she interviewed a dynamic young farmer, her world changed. Kristin knew nothing about growing vegetables, let alone raising pigs and cattle and driving horses. But on an impulse, smitten, if not yet in love, she shed her city self and moved to five hundred acres near Lake Champlain to start a new farm with him. The Dirty Life is the captivating chronicle of their first year on Essex Farm, from the cold North Country winter through the following harvest season—complete with their wedding in the loft of the barn. Kimball and her husband had a plan: to grow everything needed to feed a community. It was an ambitious idea, a bit romantic, and it worked. Every Friday evening, all year round, a hundred people travel to Essex Farm to pick up their weekly share of the "whole diet"—beef, pork, chicken, milk, eggs, maple syrup, grains, flours, dried beans, herbs, fruits, and forty different vegetables—produced by the farm. The work is done by draft horses instead of tractors, and the fertility comes from compost. Kimball’s vivid descriptions of landscape, food, cooking—and marriage—are irresistible. "As much as you transform the land by farming," she writes, "farming transforms you." In her old life, Kimball would stay out until four a.m., wear heels, and carry a handbag. Now she wakes up at four, wears Carhartts, and carries a pocket knife. At Essex Farm, she discovers the wrenching pleasures of physical work, learns that good food is at the center of a good life, falls deeply in love, and finally finds the engagement and commitment she craved in the form of a man, a small town, and a beautiful piece of land  

Description

Food, Inc. lifts the veil on our nation's food industry, exposing how our nation's food supply is now controlled by a handful of corporations that often put profit ahead of consumer health, thelivelihood of the American farmer, the safety of workers and our own environment. Food, Inc. reveals surprising and often shocking truths about what we eat, how it's produced and who we have become as a nation. Q&A with Producer/Director Robert Kenner, Co-Producer/Food Expert Eric Schlosser, Food Expert Michael Pollan and Producer Elise Pearlstein How did this film initially come about?Kenner: Eric Schlosser and I had been wanting to do a documentary version of his book, Fast Food Nation.  And, for one reason or another, it didn't happen. By the time Food, Inc. started to come together, we began talking and realized that all food has become like fast food, and all food is being created in the same manner as fast food. How has fast food changed the food we buy at the supermarket?Schlosser: The enormous buying power of the fast food industry helped to transform the entire food production system of the United States.  So even when you purchase food at the supermarket, you’re likely to be getting products that came from factories, feedlots and suppliers that emerged to serve the fast food chains. How many years did it take to do this film and what were the challenges?Kenner: From when Eric and I began talking, about 6 or 7 years.  The film itself about 2 ½ years.  It has taken a lot longer than we expected because we were denied access to so many places. Pearlstein: When Robby brought me into the project, he was adamant about wanting to hear all sides of the story, but it was nearly impossible to gain access onto industrial farms and into large food corporations.  They just would not let us in.  It felt like it would have been easier to penetrate the Pentagon than to get into a company that makes breakfast cereal.  The legal challenges on this film were also unique.  We found it necessary to consult with a first amendment lawyer throughout the entire filming process. Who or what influenced your film?Kenner: This film was really influenced by Eric Schlosser and Fast Food Nation, but then as we were progressing and had actually gotten funding, it became very influenced as well by Michael Pollan and his book Omnivore’s Dilemma.  And then, as we went out into the world, we became really incredibly influenced by a lot of the farmers we met. What was the most surprising thing you learned?Kenner: As we set out to find out how our food was made, I think the thing that really became most shocking is when we were talking to a woman, Barbara Kowalcyk, who had lost her son to eating a hamburger with E. coli, and she’s now dedicated her life to trying to make the food system safer. It’s the only way she can recover from the loss of her child. But when I asked her what she eats, she told me she couldn't tell me because she would be sued if she answered. Or we see Carol possibly losing her chicken farm … or we see Moe, a seed cleaner who’s just being sued for amounts that there’s no way he can pay, even though he’s not guilty of anything.  Then we realized there’s something going on out there that supersedes foods. Our rights are being denied in ways that I had never imagined. And it was scary and shocking. And that was my biggest surprise. So, what does our current industrialized food system say about our values as a nation?Pollan: It says we value cheap, fast and easy when it comes to food like so many other things, and we have lost any connection to where our food comes from. Kenner: I met a cattle rancher and he said, you know, we used to be scared of the Soviet Union or we used to think we were so much better than the Soviet Union because we had many places to buy things.  And we had many choices.  We thought if we were ever taken over, we’d be dominated where we’d have to buy one thing from one company, and how that’s not the American way.  And he said you look around now, and there’s like one or two companies dominating everything in the food world. We’ve become what we were always terrified of. And that just always haunted me – how could this happen in America?  It seems very un-American that we would be so dominated, and then so intimidated by the companies that are dominating this marketplace. How has the revolving door relationship between giant food companies and Washington affected the food industry?Pearlstein: We discovered that the food industry has managed to shape a lot of laws in their favor.  For example, massive factory farms are not considered real factories, so they are exempt from emissions standards that other factories face.  A surprising degree of regulation is voluntary, not mandatory, which ends up favoring the industry.  What have been the consequences for the American consumer?Kenner: Most American consumers think that we are being protected.  But that is not the case.  Right now the USDA does not have the authority to shut down a plant that is producing contaminated meat.  The FDA and the USDA have had their inspectors cut back.  And it’s for these companies now to self-police, and what we’ve found is, when there’s a financial interest involved, these companies would rather make the money and be sued than correct it.  Self-policing has really just been a miserable failure.  And I think that's been really quite harmful to the American consumer and to the American worker.  Pearlstein: The food industry has succeeded in keeping some very important information about their products hidden from consumers.  It’s outrageous that genetically modified foods don’t need to be labeled.  Today more than 70% of processed foods in the supermarket are genetically modified and we have absolutely no way of knowing.  Whatever your position, you should have the right to make informed choices, and we don’t.  Now the FDA is contemplating whether or not to label meat and milk from cloned cows.  It seems very basic that consumers should have the right to know if they’re eating a cloned steak. Is it possible to feed a nation of millions without this kind of industrialized processing?Pollan: Yes.  There are alternative ways of producing food that could improve Americans’ health.  Quality matters as much as quantity and yield is not the measure of a healthy food system.  Quantity improves a population’s health up to a point; after that, quality and diversity matters more.  And it’s wrong to assume that the industrialized food system is feeding everyone well or keeping the population healthy.  It’s failing on both counts. There is a section of the film that reveals how illegal immigrants are the faceless workers that help to bring food to our tables.  Can you give us a profile of the average worker?Schlosser: The typical farm worker is a young, Latino male who does not speak English and earns about $10,000 a year.  The typical meatpacking worker has a similar background but earns about twice that amount.  A very large proportion of the nation’s farm workers and meatpackers are illegal immigrants. Why are there so many Spanish-speaking workers?Kenner: The same thing that created obesity in this country, which is large productions of cheap corn, has put farmers out of work in foreign countries, whether it’s Mexico, Latin America or around the world.  And those farmers can no longer grow food and compete with the U.S.’ subsidized food.  So a lot of these farmers needed jobs and ended up coming into this country to work in our food production. And they have been here for a number of years.  But what’s happened is that we’ve decided that it’s no longer in the best interests of this country to have them here.  But yet, these companies still need these people and they’re desperate, so they work out deals where they can have a few people arrested at a certain time so it doesn’t affect production. But it affects people’s lives.  And these people are being deported, put in jail and sent away, but yet, the companies can go on and it really doesn’t affect their assembly line.  And what happens is that they are replaced by other, desperate immigrant groups. Could the American food industry exist without illegal immigrants?Schlosser: The food industry would not only survive, but it would have a much more stable workforce.  We would have much less rural poverty.  And the annual food bill of the typical American family would barely increase.  Doubling the hourly wage of every farm worker in this country might add $50 at most to a family’s annual food bill. What are scientists doing to our food and is it about helping food companies’ bottom line or about feeding a growing population?Schlosser: Some scientists are trying to produce foods that are healthier, easier to grow, and better for the environment.  But most of the food scientists are trying to create things that will taste good and can be made cheaply without any regard to their social or environmental consequences. I am not opposed to food science.  What matters is how that science is used … and for whose benefit. Can a person eat a healthy diet from things they buy in the supermarket if they are not buying organic? If so, how?Pollan: Yes, the supermarkets still carry real food.  The key is to shop the perimeter of the store and stay out of the middle where most of the processed food lurks. How are low-income families impacted at the supermarket?Kenner: Things are really stacked against low-income families in this country.  There is a definite desire of the food companies to sell more product to these people because they have less time, they’re working really hard and they have fewer hours in their day to cook.  And the fast food is very reasonably priced.  Coke is selling for less than water.  So when these things are happening, it’s easier for low-income families sometimes to just go in and have a quick meal if they don’t get home until 10 o’clock at night.  At the moment, our food is unfairly priced towards bad food. And, in the same way that tobacco companies went after low-income people because they were heavy users, food companies are going after low-income people because they can market to them, they can make it look very appealing. What can low-income families do to eat healthier?Schlosser: As much as possible, they can avoid cheap, processed foods and fast foods.  It’s possible to eat well and inexpensively.  But it takes more time and effort to do so, and that’s not easy when you’re working two jobs and trying to just to keep your head above water.  The sad thing is that these cheap foods are ultimately much more expensive when you factor in the costs of all the health problems that come later. Pollan: It’s possible to eat healthy food on a budget but it takes a greater investment of time.  If you are willing to cook and plan ahead, you can eat local, sustainable food on a budget. If someone wanted to get involved and help change the system, what would you suggest they do? Pearlstein: I hope people will want to be more engaged in the process of eating and shopping for food.  We have learned that there are a lot of different fronts to fight on this one, and people can see what most resonates with them.  Maybe it’s really just “voting with their forks” – eating less meat, buying different food, buying from companies they feel good about, going to farmers markets. People can try to find a CSA – community supported agriculture – where you buy a share in a farm and get local food all year.  That really helps support farmers and you get fresh, seasonal food.  On the local political level, people can work on food access issues, like getting more markets into low income communities, getting better lunch programs in schools, trying to get sodas out of schools.  And on a national level, we’ve learned that reforming the Farm Bill would have a huge influence on our food system. It requires some education, but it is something we should care about. What do you hope people take away from this film?Schlosser: I hope it opens their eyes. Kenner: That things can change in this country. It changed against the big tobacco companies.  We have to influence the government and readjust these scales back into the interests of the consumer.  We did it before, and we can do it again. Pollan: A deeper knowledge of where their food comes from and a sense of outrage over how their food is being produced and a sense of hope and possibility of the alternatives springing up around the country.  Food, Inc. is the most important and powerful film about our food system in a generation.

For most Americans, the ideal meal is fast, cheap, and tasty. Food, Inc. examines the costs of putting value and convenience over nutrition and environmental impact. Director Robert Kenner explores the subject from all angles, talking to authors, advocates, farmers, and CEOs, like co-producer Eric Schlosser (Fast Food Nation), Michael Pollan (The Omnivore's Dilemma), Gary Hirschberg (Stonyfield Farms), and Barbara Kowalcyk, who's been lobbying for more rigorous standards since E. coli claimed the life of her two-year-old son. The filmmaker takes his camera into slaughterhouses and factory farms where chickens grow too fast to walk properly, cows eat feed pumped with toxic chemicals, and illegal immigrants risk life and limb to bring these products to market at an affordable cost. If eco-docs tends to preach to the converted, Kenner presents his findings in such an engaging fashion that Food, Inc. may well reach the very viewers who could benefit from it the most: harried workers who don't have the time or income to read every book and eat non-genetically modified produce every day. Though he covers some of the same ground as Super-Size Me and King Corn, Food Inc. presents a broader picture of the problem, and if Kenner takes an understandably tough stance on particular politicians and corporations, he's just as quick to praise those who are trying to be responsible--even Wal-Mart, which now carries organic products. That development may have more to do with economics than empathy, but the consumer still benefits, and every little bit counts. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Features

• In Food, Inc., filmmaker Robert Kenner lifts the veil on our nation's food industry, exposing the highly mechanized underbelly that's been hidden from the American consumer with the consent of our government's regulatory agencies, USDA and FDA. Our nation's food supply is now controlled by a handful of corporations that often put profit ahead of consumer health, the livelihood of the American farm

Description

By the year 2050, Earth's population will double. If we continue with current farming practices, vast amounts of wilderness will be lost, millions of birds and billions of insects will die, and the public will lose billions of dollars as a consequence of environmental degradation. Clearly, there must be a better way to meet the need for increased food production. Written as part memoir, part instruction, and part contemplation, Tomorrow's Table argues that a judicious blend of two important strands of agriculture--genetic engineering and organic farming--is key to helping feed the world's growing population in an ecologically balanced manner. Pamela Ronald, a geneticist, and her husband, Raoul Adamchak, an organic farmer, take the reader inside their lives for roughly a year, allowing us to look over their shoulders so that we can see what geneticists and organic farmers actually do. The reader sees the problems that farmers face, trying to provide larger yields without resorting to expensive or environmentally hazardous chemicals, a problem that will loom larger and larger as the century progresses. They learn how organic farmers and geneticists address these problems. This book is for consumers, farmers, and policy decision makers who want to make food choices and policy that will support ecologically responsible farming practices. It is also for anyone who wants accurate information about organic farming, genetic engineering, and their potential impacts on human health and the environment.

Description

Blaze Organic is the Organic version of the First Glaze. It was studied for health-conscious consumers that care about their nourishment. Only manufactured with organic ingredients.

Description

Nature's most nutritionally balanced single Super-food. The essential plant life depends on the flowering cycle for reproduction. During this peak cycle, incredibly high levels of plant nutrients (phyto-nutrients) are densely concentrated and prepared for life formation. These ever finding phyto-nutrients from hundreds of different plants sources are naturally occurring nutritional complexes of: vitamins Complex, Carotenoids, Phytosterols, Bioflavnoids, Naturally chelated minerals, Amino acids, Essential Fatty Acids, Enzymes and Coenzymes.

Features

• Y.S. Organic Bee Farms - Fresh Bee Pollen Whole Granules - 16.0 oz. granules

Description

Logs need air and light. Request Christmas gifts arrive 12/21-22. For logs shipped now, please open the box until time for delivery. Write arrival date on 2nd address line. Thanks. Kit contains an all-natural hardwood log injected with shiitake spawn and produce mushrooms every two months for years. Grow indoors with plants or outside in shade. To produce mushrooms, soak it in non-chlorinated ice water for 24 hours. Harvest in 6-10 days. Logs require regular soaking in nonchlorinated room-temperature water every two weeks.PLEASE NOTE: Logs are ALIVE and can't remain in the pacakging without air, light and oxygen for more than two weeks. We prefer to ship holiday gift logs to arrive close to the holiday: Please write the delivery date in the 2nd address line or use the Scheduled Shipping option. Thanks!

Features

• For holiday shipping enter arrival date in 2nd address line. A great gift for gardeners, gourmets and cooks and for young people to learn about nature.
• Grows Shiitake Mushrooms every 2 months for years in room light or garden shade. Fully guaranteed.
• Add the Shiitake Sampler Cookbook, with 51 delicious recipes
• Your purchase supports Mushrooms in Ghana, our project to promote mushroom cultivation as a means of alleviating poverty in West Africa. Thanks!