Not all the information on Local Food is accesible on the web. Sometimes you just have to log off, go outside and read a book. Here are a few suggestions of books that helped me. I give the Amazon link for them, but the Malrborough Public Library has access to most of them as well.


Local Flavors: Cooking and Eating from America's Farmer's Markets
Deborah Madison
http://www.amazon.com/Local-Flavors-Cooking-Americas-Farmers/dp/0767929497/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1209743764&sr=1-4
She visited Farmer's Markets around the country and tells little stories about a lot of them. Plus a ton of great recipes using fresh produce.

The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals
Michael Pollan
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0143038583/ref=reg_hu-wl_mrai-recs
Fantastic! He deconstructs four different kinds of meals back to their origins: a fast food meal, Big Business Organic, Sustainable, and Self Harvested.

One-Straw Revolution
Masanobu Fukuoka
http://www.amazon.com/One-straw-Revolution-Masanobu-Fukuoka/dp/8185569312/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1209745012&sr=1-1
This Japanese farmer decided that growing rice was too complicated and decided to deconstruct the process. Over the next few decades he perfected an agricultural system he calls the Do Nothing method. It doesn't really involve doing nothing, but it does involve just doing the minimum to help nature do what she does best. Oh, and he gets yields equivalent to the guys who used pesticides and flood their fields and are constantly doing something.

Fast Food Nation
Eric Schlosser
http://www.amazon.com/Fast-Food-Nation-Eric-Schlosser/dp/0060838582/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1209743557&sr=1-1
Horrifying. He investigated exactly what it takes to give you a cheap burger and fries.

Don't Eat This Book: Fast Food and The Supersizing of America
Morgan Spurlock
http://www.amazon.com/Dont-Eat-This-Book-Supersizing/dp/B000NO1CPA/ref=pd_bbs_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1209743879&sr=1-2
Another anti-fast food polemic. Written by the guy who made the movie Supersize Me (he ate nothing but fast food for a month and filmed the results).

Worldchanging: A User's Guide for the 21st Century
Alex Steffen
http://www.amazon.com/Worldchanging-Users-Guide-21st-Century/dp/0810970856/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1209743649&sr=1-1
Not strictly about Local Food. This book shows a lot of ways that regular people can get involved in making a Bright Green future for us all.

The Sustainability Revolution: Portrait of a Paradigm Shift
Andres Edwards
http://www.amazon.com/Sustainability-Revolution-Portrait-Paradigm-Shift/dp/0865715319/ref=pd_sim_b_img_4
This book talks about what an entire sustainable economy would look like. Guess what? Local food is a critical part of that...

Biomimicry: Innovation Ispired By Nature
Janine M Benyus
http://www.amazon.com/Biomimicry-Innovation-Inspired-Janine-Benyus/dp/0060533226/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1209744126&sr=8-1
OK, this one is not even a little bit about local food. But the attitude of this book fits perfectly - Nature knows what she's doing and we'll do a lot better if we figure out how to work with her, rather than against her.

Hey!! Do you have a favorite book about local food or some related subject? Tell me about it!