Animal, vegetable, junk : a history of food, from sustainable to suicidal

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Title:

Animal, vegetable, junk : a history of food, from sustainable to suicidal

Author:

Bittman, Mark, author, narrator.

ISBN:

9780358394839

9781664783638

Edition:

Unabridged.

Physical Description:

10 audio discs (13 hr.) : CD audio, digital ; 4 3/4 in.

General Note:

Compact discs.

Contents:

The food-brain feedback loop -- Soil and civilization -- Agriculture goes global -- Creating famine -- The American way of farming -- The farm as factory -- Dust and depression -- Food and the brand -- Vitamania and "the farm problem" -- Soy and chicken -- The force-feeding of junk -- The so-called green revolution -- The resistance -- Where we're at -- The way forward -- Conclusion: We are all eaters.

Subject Term:

Food habits -- United States -- History.

Food habits -- Environmental aspects -- United States.

Agriculture -- Social aspects -- United States.

Agriculture -- Environmental aspects -- United States.

Genre:

Audiobooks.

Local Subject:

Spoken compact disc collection.

Summary:

A century ago, food was industrialized. Since then, new styles of agriculture and food production have written a new chapter of human history, one that's driving both climate change and global health crises. Food authority Mark Bittman offers a panoramic view of the story and explains how we can rescue ourselves from the modern wrong turn.

Holds:

Available:*

Library	Call Number	Status
Searching... Lake Elmo Library	SCD 394.12 BIT 10 DISCS	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Oakdale Library	SCD 394.12 BIT 10 DISCS	Searching... Unknown

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Summary

"Epic and engrossing." --The New York Times Book Review From the #1 New York Times bestselling author and pioneering journalist, an expansive look at how history has been shaped by humanity's appetite for food, farmland, and the money behind it all--and how a better future is within reach. The story of humankind is usually told as one of technological innovation and economic influence--of arrowheads and atomic bombs, settlers and stock markets. But behind it all, there is an even more fundamental driver: Food. In Animal, Vegetable, Junk, trusted food authority Mark Bittman offers a panoramic view of how the frenzy for food has driven human history to some of its most catastrophic moments, from slavery and colonialism to famine and genocide--and to our current moment, wherein Big Food exacerbates climate change, plunders our planet, and sickens its people. Even still, Bittman refuses to concede that the battle is lost, pointing to activists, workers, and governments around the world who are choosing well-being over corporate greed and gluttony, and fighting to free society from Big Food's grip. Sweeping, impassioned, and ultimately full of hope, Animal, Vegetable, Junk reveals not only how food has shaped our past, but also how we can transform it to reclaim our future.

Author Notes

Mark Bittman has won IACP Julia Child Awards for his books Fish and How to Cook Everything, which has sold over 400,000 copies. He writes "The Minimalist" column for The New York Times, and his food writing appears in major publications nationwide. He is coauthor of the James Beard Award-winning Jean-Georges: Cooking at Home with a Four-Star Chef (Broadway Books, 1998).

Mark's book, How to Cook Everything Fast: A Better Way to Cook Great Food, was a New York Times bestseller in 2014. (Bowker Author Biography)

Reviews (1)

Library Journal Review

Author and food journalist Bittman presents a fascinating analysis of how history has been shaped by humans searching for food and the continuing war against nature. This anthropological study includes a description of the cultural and environmental consequences of the transformation from ancient hunting and gathering to the age of agriculture, and dives into today's highly industrialized food system. Bittman describes the historical exploitation of land; commercial greed; how the focus on cash crops triggered the American Dust Bowl era; the ravages to the environment caused by human-made chemical fertilizers and pesticides; and the economic disaster forced on family farms by industrialized agribusiness. He ends with a passionate plea to support agriculture that sustains the land, food that genuinely nourishes, and people who want to grow and cook for their communities. Bittman's clear, steady-paced narration nicely guides erudite listeners through this important contribution to the rapidly growing genre of food activism. VERDICT Worldwide famine and the collapse of the climate are real, and the author's stark challenge to change the system or suffer catastrophe is a clarion call. This ardent work will appeal to devotees of Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma and Jared Diamond's Collapse. Highly recommended for all libraries.--Dale Farris, Groves, TX

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Reviews (1)

Library Journal Review

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