There is a wealth of information available about our food system and regenerative agriculture. Here are a number of resources that I’ve learned a lot from, or are on my list to check out. If you have other suggestions, please email them to me and I’ll add them to the list: lise@lisemetzger.com.
BOOKS
American Wasteland, by Jonathan Bloom
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, by Barbara Kingsolver. The book that changed Jennie Kahly’s life.
Big Chicken, by Maryn McKenna
The Color of Food, by Natasha Bowens
Diet for a Hot Planet, by Anna Lappe. In 1971, Frances Moore Lappe, Anna’s mother, wrote the groundbreaking book Diet for a Small Planet, about the hidden environmental and social impacts of our food choices. Her daughter speaks specifically here about the climate crisis.
Eating Animals, by Jonathan Safran Foer
Farming While Black, by Leah Penniman
Fast Food Nation, by Eric Schlosser
Food Politics, by Marion Nestle
A Foodie’s Guide to Capitalism, by Erik Hazard
Gaining Ground, by Forrest Pritchard
In Defense of Food, by Michael Pollan. I’d recommend starting with Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma.
The New Organic Grower, by Eliot Coleman. The book Emma Jagoz used to learn how to farm.
The Omnivore’s Dilemma, by Michael Pollan. A friend refers to this book as “the gateway drug to the food world.”
Soil Sisters: A Toolkit for Women Farmers, by Lisa Kivirist
Start Your Farm, by Forrest Pritchard
Stuffed and Starved, by Raj Patel
The Third Plate, by Dan Barber
Tomatoland: How Modern Industrial Agriculture Destroyed Our Most Alluring Fruit, by Barry Estabrook
MOVIES AND VIDEOS
Fast Food Business—Shocking Truth Behind It. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyVFGpg17hw
Food Inc
Forks Over Knives
Treating the Farm as an Ecosystem, with Gabe Brown. North Dakota rancher explains how he has used regenerative agriculture practices to restore his ranchland. This guy is a rockstar!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUmIdq0D6-A
King Corn
The Meatrix https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEkc70ztOrc
Animated short about factory farming.
Our Unhealthy Food System (and How to Fix It), from the Union of Concerned Scientists
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUE6I8chcws
Excellent. Sums it all up in 2:55 minutes!
A Place at the Table
The World According to Monsanto
PERIODICALS
Civil Eats https://civileats.com/ A daily news source, featuring excellent reporting from over 100 contributors.
Food and Environment Reporting Network. https://thefern.org/ Investigative journalism about agriculture, food and environmental health.
PODCASTS
The Beginning Farmer Show, from Ethan Book
Bite, from Mother Jones
Farmer to Farmer, from Chris Blanchard. The podcast is no longer in production, but you can still hear all the episodes. Many farmers have mentioned this one as a favorite.
The Female Farmer, from Audra Mulkern (creator of the Female Farmer Project) and Kate Dowdy.
In Her Boots, from Lisa Kivirist of the Rural Women’s Project
Our Farms Our Future, from the USDA Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program
Plate of the Union, from chef Spike Mendelsohn and Monica Mills
Real Food Reads, from Anna Lappé and Real Food Media
WEBSITES
American Farmland Trust. http://www.farmland.org/
American Farmland Trust is the only national conservation organization dedicated to protecting farmland, promoting sound farming practices, and keeping farmers on the land.
Center for Science in the Public Interest. http://www.cspinet.org/
Change Food. http://www.changefood.org Excellent talks by a wide variety of people working to change our current food system, from TED, TEDx Manhattan, and other food-related conferences.
Civil Eats. https://civileats.com A daily news source for critical thought about the American food system, with over 100 contributors.
Environmental Working Group. www.ewg.org/ Extremely helpful information to help consumers choose nontoxic products and foods.
Food Tank. foodtank.com A deep resource for articles, and videos from its various Summits held around the country each year.
Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future. http://www.jhsph.edu/research/centers-and-institutes/johns-hopkins-center-for-a-livable-future/index.html
Local Harvest. http://www.localharvest.org/ A good place to start to find a local CSA.
Modern Farmer. http://www.modernfarmer.com
National Young Farmers Coalition. http://www.youngfarmers.org/
Organic Consumers Association. https://www.organicconsumers.org/
Real Food Media. http://realfoodmedia.org/ A wealth of information in various media.