Foodfight

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Ben Hewitt

The captivating story of a small town coming back to life, grounded in an idea that will revolutionize the way we eat. Over the past 3 years, Hardwick, Vermont, a typical hardscrabble farming community of 3,000 residents, has jump-started its economy and redefined its self-image through a local, self-sustaining food system unlike anything else in America. Even as the recent financial downturn threatens to cripple small businesses and privately owned farms, a stunning number of food-based businesses have grown in the region. The mostly young entrepreneurs have created a network of community support; they meet regularly to share advice, equipment, and business plans, and to loan each other capital. Hardwick is fast becoming a model for other communities to replicate its success.--From publisher description.

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Jacy Reese

"Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma and Jonathan Safran Foer's Eating Animals brought widespread attention to the disturbing realities of factory farming. The End of Animal Farming pushes this conversation forward by outlining a strategic roadmap to a humane, ethical, and efficient food system in which slaughterhouses are obsolete--where the tastes of even the most die-hard meat eater are satisfied by innovative food technologies like cultured meats and plant-based protein. 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. The End of Animal Farming 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."--Publisher's description.

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George Ritzer

George Ritzer's McDonaldization of Society, now celebrating its 20th anniversary, continues to stand as one of the pillars of modern day sociological thought. By linking theory to 21st century culture, this book resonates with students in a way that few other books do, opening their eyes to many current issues, especially in consumption and globalization. As in previous editions, the book has been updated and it offers new discussions of, among others, In-N-Out- Burger and Pret A Manger as possible antitheses of McDonaldization. The biggest change, however, is that the book has been radically streamlined to offer an even clearer articulation of the now-famous McDonaldization thesis.

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Terry Bridge

"Over the centuries man has selectively bred animals to achieve productivity. However, modern agriculture has meant that today relatively few breeds are now used and bred extensively. Fortunately, many of the more rare and interesting breeds still exist and are being carefully conserved for the future. We now realize the importance of their gene pool and enthusiasts everywhere are setting up small breeding programs for animals such as chickens, cattle, farm horses, goats, sheep, ducks and geese. This book will help the enthusiast set up a breeding program and instruct them in how to care and maintain their animals. A rare breed is defined as a breed of livestock that is not common in modern agriculture, though it may have been in the past. Various national and international organizations, such as the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy, and the Rare Breeds Survival Trust of the United Kingdom, each define the exact parameters by which a breed may be defined as rare, and many breeds that qualify only have a few thousand or a even a few hundred breeding individuals remaining in the world."