New Books at PEOSTA

Reviewed: Choice (Dec. 2018 vol. 56 no. 4) Outstanding academic title; Highly recommended for community college libraries.
Description: Long before the invention of the ready meal, humans processed food to preserve it and make it safe. From fire to fermentation, our ancestors survived periods of famine by changing the very nature of their food. This ability to process food has undoubtedly made us one of the most successful species on the planet, but have we gone too far? Through manipulating chemical reactions and organisms, scientists have unlocked all kinds of methods to improve food longevity and increase supply, from apples that stay fresh for weeks to cheese that is matured over days rather than months. And more obscure types of food processing, such as growing steaks in a test-tube and 3D-printed pizzas, seem to have come straight from the pages of a science-fiction novel. These developments are keeping up with the changing needs of the demanding consumer, but we only tend to notice them when the latest scaremongering headline hits the news. This book explores how processing methods have evolved in many of the foods that we love in response to big business, consumer demand, health concerns, innovation, political will, waste and even war. (publ.)

Reviewed: PW 14 Jan. 2019 p. 40; Choice (Jun. 2019 vol. 56 no. 10); Top 75 books recommended for community college libraries.
Description: : Pigs are everywhere in United States history. They cleared frontiers and built cities (notably Cincinnati, once known as Porkopolis), served as an early form of welfare, and were at the center of two nineteenth-century “pig wars.” American pork fed the hemisphere; lard literally greased the wheels of capitalism. J.L. Anderson has written an ambitious history of pigs and pig products from the Columbian exchange to the present, e-phasizing critical stories of production, consumption, and waste in American history. He examines different cultural assumptions about pigs to provide a window into the nation’s regional, racial, and class fault lines, and maps where pigs are (and are not) to reveal a deep history of the American landscape. This is an accessible, deeply researched, and often surprising portrait of one of the planet's most consequential interspecies relationships (publ.)

Reviewed: TLS 30 Nov. 2018 p. 3; PW 23 July 2018 p. 192; Choice (May 2019 vol. 56 no. 9); Top 75 Books highly recommended for community college libraries.
Description: To translate the journey from a living cow to a glass of milk into tangible terms, Kathryn Gillespie set out to follow the moments in the life cycles of individual animals—animals like the cow with ear tag #1389. She explores how the seemingly benign practice of raising animals for milk is just one link in a chain that affects livestock across the agricultural spectrum. Gillespie takes readers to farms, auction yards, slaughterhouses, and even rendering plants to show how living cows become food. The result is an empathetic look at cows and our relationship with them, one that makes both their lives and their suffering real. (publ.)

Reviewed: Choice (Apr. 2019 vol. 56 no. 8) Top 75 books highly recommended for community college libraries.
Description: The Fertile Crescent region has long been regarded as pivotal to the rise of civilisation. Alongside the story of human development, innovation, and progress, there is a culinary tradition of equal richness and importance. This book shows Heine’s deep knowledge of the cookery traditions of the Umayyad, Abbasid, Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal courts. In addition to a fascinating history, Heine presents more than seventy recipes–from the modest to the extravagant–with dishes ranging from those created by the celebrity chefs of the bygone Mughal era, up to gastronomically complex presentations of modern times. Beautifully produced, designed for both reading and cooking, and lavishly illustrated throughout, The Culinary Crescent is sure to provide a delectable window into the history of food in the Middle East. (publ.)
Note: Originally published as: Köstlicher Orient: Eine Geschichte der Esskultur, Mit über 100 Rezepten (Berlin: Klaus Wagenbach, 2016).

Reviewed: LJ 1 Nov. 2018 p. 82.
Description: Social scientist and animal advocate Jacy Reese analyzes the social forces leading us toward the downfall of animal agriculture, the technology making this change possible for the meat-hungry public, and the activism driving consumer demand for plant-based and cultured foods. Reese contextualizes the issue of factory farming–the inhumane system of industrial farming that 95 percent of farmed animals endure–as part of humanity's expanding moral circle. Humanity increasingly treats nonhuman animals, from household pets to orca whales, with respect and kindness, and Reese argues that farmed animals are the next step. Reese applies an analytical lens of “effective altruism,” the burgeoning philosophy of using evidence-based research to maximize one’s positive impact in the world, in order to better understand which strategies can help expand the moral circle now and in the future. This book is not a scolding treatise or a prescription for an ascetic diet. Reese invites readers–vegan and non-vegan–to consider one of the most important and transformational social movements of the coming decades. (publ.)

Reviewed: Choice (Jul 2019 vol. 56 no. 11); Highly recommended.
Description: In 1920, 14 percent of all land-owning US farmers were black. Today less than 2 percent of farms are controlled by black people–a loss of over 14 mil-lion acres and the result of discrimination and dispossession. While farm management is among the whitest of professions, farm labor is predominantly brown and exploited, and people of color disproportionately live in “food apartheid” neighborhoods and suffer from diet-related illness. The system is built on stolen land and stolen labor and needs a redesign. This book is the first comprehensive “how to” guide for aspiring African-heritage growers to reclaim their dignity as agriculturists and for all farmers to understand the distinct, technical contributions of African-heritage people to sustainable agriculture. At Soul Fire Farm, author Leah Penniman co-created the Black and Latinx Farmers Immersion (BLFI) program as a container for new farmers to share growing skills in a culturally relevant and supportive environment led by people of color. … Throughout the chapters Penniman uplifts the wisdom of the African diasporic farmers and activists whose work informs the techniques described–from whole farm planning, soil fertility, seed selection, and agroecology, to using whole foods in culturally appropriate recipes, sharing stories of ancestors, and tools for healing from the trauma associated with slavery and economic exploitation on the land. Woven throughout the book is the story of Soul Fire Farm, a national leader in the food justice movement. The technical information is designed for farmers and gardeners with beginning to intermediate experience. For those with more experience, the book provides a fresh lens on practices that may have been taken for granted as a historical or strictly European. Black ancestors and contemporaries have always been leaders–and continue to lead–in the sustainable agriculture and food justice movements. It is time for all of us to listen. (publ.)

Reviewed: Choice (Jul. 2019 vol. 56 no. 11); Top 75 Books recommended for community college libraries.
Description: Including interviews from both sides of the (farmyard) fence; from biologists to farmers and nutritionists to activists, this book charts the history of GM foods from the laboratory to the global dinner plate. Equally informative and entertaining, Godwin chronicles the social, political and philosophical arguments for and against GM crops, and the science and knowledge behind the battle for global food security and sustainability. (publ.)

Reviewed: Choice (Jul. 2019 vol. 56 no. 11); Highly recommended for community college libraries.
Description: When Bob Quinn was a kid, a stranger at a county fair gave him a few kernels of an unusual grain. Little did he know, that grain would change his life. Years later, after finishing a PhD in plant biochemistry and returning to his family’s farm in Montana, Bob started experimenting with organic wheat. In the beginning, his concern wasn’t health or the environment; he just wanted to make a decent living and some chance encounters led him to organics. But as demand for organics grew, so too did Bob’s experiments. He discovered that through time-tested practices like cover cropping and crop rotation, he could produce successful yields–without pesticides. Regenerative organic farming allowed him to grow fruits and vegetables in cold, dry Montana, providing a source of local produce to families in his hometown. He even started producing his own renewable energy. And he learned that the grain he first tasted at the fair was actually a type of ancient wheat, one that was proven to lower inflammation rather than worsening it, as modern wheat does. Ultimately, Bob’s forays with organics turned into a multi-million dollar heirloom grain company, Kamut International. (publ.)

Reviewed: Choice (Jul 2019 vol. 56 no. 11); Top 75 Books recommended for community college libraries.
Description: Americans enjoy some of the cheapest, most convenient food on the planet. But like most bargains that are too good to be true, the modern food system is a fraud. It is built on the illusion of limitless abundance, and the planet has its limits. So too do the workers who must labor harder and faster for less pay. So too does a healthcare system that must absorb rising rates of diabetes and obesity. Through stories from around the globe, Kevin Walker reveals the true costs of our grand food bargain. By the end of the journey, we not only understand how the drive to produce ever more food became hardwired into the American psyche, but why shifting our mindset is essential. (publ.)

Reviewed: Choice (Oct. 2018 vol. 56 no. 2) Top 75 books recommended for community college libraries.
Description: Provides a collection of essays that break down the crucial question of how to feed the world by tackling big issues one-by-one. Covering population, water, land, climate change, technology, food systems, trade, food waste and loss, health, social buy-in, communication, and, lastly, the ultimate challenge of achieving equal access to food, the book reveals a complex web of factors that must be addressed in order to reach global food security. This resource unites contributors from different perspectives and academic disciplines, ranging from agronomy and hydrology to agricultural economy and communication. Hailing from Germany, the Philippines, the U.S., Ecuador, and beyond, the contributors weave their own life experiences into their chapters, connecting global issues to our tangible, day-to-day existence. (publ.)
Note: 2nd copy at Calmar library; call no. 338.19 How.

Reviewed: Choice (Jun. 2019 vol. 56 no. 10) Top 75 books recommended for community college libraries.
Description: In the United States today, 50 million people don’t have enough food. How is this possible in one of the world’s wealthiest countries? Why hasn’t the problem been solved? Is it simply an economic issue? Challenging conventional wisdom, the authors explore the causes and consequences of food insecurity; assess some of the major policies and programs that have been designed to reduce it; and consider alternative paths forward. (publ.)

Reviewed: PW 30 Apr. 2018 p. 50; LJ Aug. 2018 p. 114.
Description: Camas Davis was at an unhappy crossroads. A longtime magazine editor, she had left New York City to pursue a simpler life in her home state of Oregon, with the man she wanted to marry, and taken an appealing job at a Portland magazine. But neither job nor man delivered on her dreams, and in the span of a year, Camas was unemployed, on her own, with nothing to fall back on. … So when a friend told her about Kate Hill, an American woman living in Gascony, France who ran a cooking school and took in strays in exchange for painting fences and making beds, it sounded like just what she needed. She discovered a forgotten credit card that had just enough credit on it to buy a plane ticket and took it as kismet. Upon her arrival, Kate introduced her to the Chapolard brothers, a family of Gascon pig farmers and butchers, who were willing to take Camas under their wing, inviting her to work alongside them in their slaughterhouse and cutting room. In the process, the Chapolards inducted her into their way of life, which prizes pleasure, compassion, community, and authenticity above all else, forcing Camas to question everything she’d believed about life, death, and dinner. (publ.)

Reviewed: Choice (Jul. 2019 vol. 56 no. 11) Top 75 books highly recommended for community college libraries.
Description: The food system has changed considerably in the last century. Horsepower was replaced by machine, better crop breeding programs helped usher in the Green Revolution, and problems of malnutrition began to run parallel with those of obesity. Despite changes, many of the problems we face remain the same. Farms continue to lose soil, and low-income households still have difficulty acquiring healthy food. Add to these challenges a host of new ones. Globalization has caused some agricultural communities to feel threatened. Everyone recognizes problems of malnutrition, obesity and food sustainability, but many disagree on solutions. One thing is certain: confronting both familiar and new challenges will lead to radical changes in the food system. Though the exact form of radical change is unknown, this book looks to a host of candidates by interviewing the people who champion them. (publ.)

Reviewed: Choice (Mar. 2019 vol. 56 no. 7) Top 75 Books highly recommended for community college libraries.
Description: A celebration of the 12,000-year connection between humans and the world’s most commonly consumed meat: pork. Throughout history, pigs shaped cultures and cuisines. Introduced into the Americas, they changed lives and, in time, helped define the Midwest, reflexting the region's diversity and abundance. (publ.)

Reviewed: NYT/BR 21 Oct. 2018 p. 15; PW 28 May 2018 p. 84; LJ 1 Sept. 2018 p. 68; Choice (Jun. 2019 vol. 56 no. 10); Top 75 books recommended for community college libraries.
Description: By the end of the nineteenth century, food in America was increasingly dangerous–lethal, even. Milk and meat were routinely preserved with formaldehyde, a practice based on the embalming of corpses. Beer and wine were preserved with salicylic acid, a pharmaceutical chemical; canned vegetables were greened-up by copper sulphate, a toxic metallic salt; rancid butter was made edible with borax, best known as a cleaning product. This was not by accident; food manufacturers had rushed to embrace the rise of industrial chemistry and were knowingly selling harmful products. Unchecked by government regulation, basic safety, or even labeling requirements, they put profit before the health of their customers. By some estimates, in New York City alone, thousands of children were killed by adulterated and chemically “improved” milk. Citizens–activists, journalists, scientists, and wornen’s groups–began agitating for change. But although protective measures were enacted in Europe, American corporations blocked even modest regulations. Then in 1883, Dr. Harvey Washington Wiley, a chemistry professor from Purdue University, was named chief chemist of the United States Department of Agriculture, and the agency began methodically investigating food and drink fraud, even conducting shocking human tests on groups of young men who came to be known as the Poison Squad. Over the next thirty years, a titanic struggle took place, with the courageous and inimitable Dr. Wiley campaigning tirelessly for food safety and consumer protection. (publ.)

Reviewed: LR May 2018 p. 29; Choice (Dec. 2018 vol. 56 no. 4) Top 75 books recommended for community college libraries.
Description: In Seeds of Science, eco-activist Mark Lynas lifts the lid on the controversial story and misunderstood science of GMOs. In the mid-1990s, as the global media stirred up a panic about the risks of genetically modified crops, Lynas destroyed crop fields and spoke out in the press…until he realized he was wrong. This book explains why. Starting out as one of the leading activists in the fight against GMOs–from destroying experimental crop fields to leading the charge in the press–in 2013 Lynas famously admitted that he got it all wrong. Lynas takes us back to the origins of the technology, and examines the histories of the people and companies who pioneered it. He explains what lead him to question his assumptions on GMOs, and how he is currently tracking poverty by using genetic modification to encourage better harvests. (publ.)

Reviewed: LJ Aug. 2018 p. 114.
Description: This engagingly illustrated book traces the journeys of these foodstuffs as they were transported from their regions of origin to faraway cultures and countries, there to take up starring roles in new cuisines. It explores each food in depth, beautifully illustrated by specially commissioned artworks, and views them through a number of prisms–social, cultural, historical, and botanical–to offer readers fresh, informative insights into seemingly everyday foods that reveal themselves as wondrous. The rich and diverse cultural stories of these seven ingredients are also told, from the magical and aphrodisiac powers associated with cacao in Mesoamerican culture to the introduction of tomatoes to Europe by the Spanish conquistadors in the sixteenth century and the earliest cultivation of rice in China’s Pearl Valley. Readers can take the seven ingredients into their own kitchens via 63 original recipes for dishes both traditional and innovative. (publ.)

Reviewed: PW 6 May 2019 p. 54.
Description: Provides a fascinating look into 18th and 19th century American history. Featuring over 150 elegant and approachable recipes featured in the eponymous television series, paired with elegantly styled food photography, readers will want to recreate these dishes in their modern-day kitchens. Woven throughout the recipes are fascinating history lessons that introduce the people, places, and events that shaped our unique American democracy and cuisine. For instance, did you know that tofu has been a part of our culture’s diet for centuries? Ben Franklin sung its praises in a letter written in 1770! (publ.)

Reviewed: LJ March 2019 p. 69 (Best Reference 2018)
Description: This rollicking ride into machine history follows the innovators, entrepreneurs, and hucksters who transformed our world with farm machines of all colors. Starting with the turn-of-the-century visionaries who saw that four wheels and a motor could replace for the horse, the book moves swiftly through key early developments to cover the power farming movement of the latter part of the 20th century–a time when major manufacturers lagged and independent builders and farmers began creating their own machines with a pencil drawing and a welder. The book includes key moments of tractor history. (publ.)

Reviewed: Choice (Apr. 2019 vol. 56 no. 8) Highly recommended for community college libraries.
Description: Is chocolate heart-healthy? Does yogurt prevent type 2 diabetes? Do pomegranates help cheat death? News accounts bombard us with such amazing claims, report them as science, and influence what we eat. Yet, as Marion Nestle explains, these studies are more about marketing than science; they are often paid for by companies that sell those foods. Whether it’s a Coca-Cola-backed study hailing light exercise as a calorie neutralizer, or blueberry-sponsored investigators proclaiming that this fruit prevents erectile dysfunction, every corner of the food industry knows how to turn conflicted research into big profit. As Nestle argues, it’s time to put public health first. (publ.)

Review: TLS 15 Mar. 2019 p. 48.
Description: Food is one of life’s great joys. So why has eating become such a source of anxiety and confusion? Bee Wilson shows that in two generations the world has undergone a massive shift from traditional, limited diets to more globalized ways of eating, from bubble tea to quinoa, from Soylent to meal kits. Paradoxically, our diets are getting healthier and less healthy at the same time. For some, there has never been a happier food era than today: a time of unusual herbs, farmers’ markets, and internet recipe swaps. Yet modern food also kills–diabetes and heart disease are on the rise every-where on earth. This is a book about the good, the terrible, and the avocado toast. A riveting exploration of the hidden forces behind what we eat, Wilson explains how this food revolution has transformed our bodies, our social lives, and the world we live in. (publ.)

Reviewed: Choice (Mar. 2019 vol. 56 no. 7) Top 75 books recommended for community college libraries.
Description: These are the stories of farmers across the American Midwest who are balancing profitability and food production with environmental sustainability and a passion for all things wild. They are using innovative techniques and strategies to develop their “wildly” successful farms as working ecosystems. Whether producing grain, vegetables, fruit, meat, or milk, these next-generation agrarians look beyond the bottom line of the spreadsheet to the biological activity on the land as key measures of success. Written by agricultural journalist Brian DeVore, the book is based on interviews he has conducted at farms, wildlife refuges, laboratories, test plots, and gardens over the past twenty-five years. He documents innovations in cover cropping, managed rotational grazing, perennial polyculture, and integrated pest management. (publ.)