Food from the radical center : healing our land and communities

Food from the radical center Healing our land and communities

Gary Paul Nabhan

Book - 2018

America has never felt more divided. But in the midst of all the acrimony comes one of the most promising movements in our country's history. People of all races, faiths, and political persuasions are coming together to restore America's natural wealth: its ability to produce healthy foods. In Food from the Radical Center, Gary Nabhan tells the stories of diverse communities that are getting their hands dirty and bringing back North America's unique fare: bison, sturgeon, camas lilies, ancient grains, turkeys, and more. These efforts have united people from the left and right, rural and urban, faith-based and science-based, in game-changing collaborations. Their successes are extraordinary by any measure, whether economic, ec...ological, or social. In fact, the restoration of land and rare species has provided--dollar for dollar--one of the best returns on investment of any conservation initiative. As a leading thinker and seasoned practitioner in biocultural conservation, Nabhan offers a truly unique perspective on the movement. He draws on fifty years of work with community-based projects around the nation, from the desert Southwest to the low country of the Southeast. Yet Nabhan's most enduring legacy may be his message of hope: a vision of a new environmentalism that is just and inclusive, allowing former adversaries to commune over delicious foods.

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Subjects
Agricultural conservation > North America.
Plant conservation > North America.
Wildlife conservation > North America.
Published
Washington, DC : Island Press [2018]
Language
English
Main Author
Gary Paul Nabhan (author)
Physical Description
xii, 184 pages ; 24 cm
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN
9781610919197
  • Acknowledgments
  • Introduction: Conservation You Can Taste
  • Chapter 1. A Land Divided
  • Chapter 2. Farming in the Radical Center
  • Chapter 3. Will Work for Dirt
  • Chapter 4. Replenishing Water and Wealth
  • Chapter 5. Bringing Back the Bison
  • Chapter 6. Teach a Community to Fish
  • Chapter 7. Plant Midwives
  • Chapter 8. Strange Birds Flock Together
  • Chapter 9. Herders of Many Cultures
  • Chapter 10. Immigrant Grains
  • Chapter 11. Urban Growers and Rare Fruits
  • Chapter 12. Return of the Pollinators
  • Chapter 13. You Can Go Home Again
  • Appendix. The Conservation Couplets
  • Literature Cited
  • Index
Review by Choice Review

Simultaneously optimistic about possible futures and frustrated with entrenched thinking, Nabhan (independent scholar) demonstrates how "community-based restoration" works, and how this radical model can ensure bountiful tables. Speaking from experience and citing numerous historical and contemporary cases, the author advocates for cooperative local control and stewardship. By including many voices, the model results in sustained investments and--critical to the model--shared benefits. Nabhan builds a strong case, taking the time to introduce protagonists and describe the processes undertaken to restore the productivity of landscapes and waterways, and the health of plant and animal species including bison, churros, and heirloom and heritage fruit. The book ends with "Conservation Couplets," which pair thinking Nabhan preemptively casts as passé with more enlightened examples of "bottom-up," community-based restoration. Even for readers who don't agree with the shift away from a strong regulatory framework to site-based solutions that bring environmental concerns in dialogue with human economic and cultural interests, the listening and care required of such an approach is an ideal that can be applied to work in many fields. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readers. --Anne Babette Audant, CUNY Hostos Community College

Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Booklist Review

In this collection of success stories, Nabhan (Where Our Food Comes From, 2008), generally recognized as the father of the local food movement, suggests that one way of bridging America's deep divides is through communally shared projects designed to increase overall access to healthy, natural food. The book presents a series of scenarios mostly grassroots movements ranging from revitalizing exhausted soil to cultivating pollinator populations, reintroducing heritage vegetables, or opening up free-range grazing opportunities that have resulted in fruitful outcomes (both literally and figuratively). Profiles center on one or two people who started with a personal vision, sparked recognition and participation, and turned their aspirations into reality, resulting in shared senses of purpose and benefits for their entire communities all while triggering trends toward natural-food sources. Names, anecdotes, and insights help personalize these stories, and Nabhan's cited literature selections include websites of organizations that support similar initiatives. Both informational and inspirational, this will be of interest to foodies, conservationists, and environmentalists alike.--Kathleen McBroom Copyright 2018 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Library Journal Review

Recognized as the father of the local food movement, Nabhan (Food, Genes, and Culture) presents a collection of stories that illustrate what good can happen when people organize and work to restore land in order to produce healthy foods. Each of the 13 chapters begins, "have you ever...." Readers are then drawn into stories and relatable tales about successes that culminated from hard work and dedication. Nabhan relates his firsthand experiences with community-based restoration and biocultural restoration and illustrates the importance of collaboration to restoring the diversity of foods, returning water to dry lands, creating vibrant plant life and flowers, learning the nutritional values of grains and fruits, and maintaining the habitat of pollinators vital to our food supply. All of his examples show how these programs, aimed at producing healthy foods, also bring about understanding of differences in cultures, thus fostering healthy human relationships. VERDICT A thought-provoking collection recommended for libraries with environmental collections.-Patricia Ann Owens, formerly at -Illinois Eastern -Community Coll., Mt. Carmel © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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