Reclaiming Our Food: How the Grassroots Food Movement Is Changing the Way We Eat
by Tanya Denckla Cobb (Storey Publishing, 320 pp., $24.95, paper)For many people, wresting what we eat from the stranglehold of corporate interests is the most important action we can take to ensure the longevity of this planet and its inhabitants. Located right in the center of a matrix of conversations about hunger, soil integrity, ethics, cultural preservation, and education is Reclaiming Our Food, a comprehensive set of case studies of grassroots food movements across the country, curated with staggering breadth and depth by Tanya Denckla Cobb. From backyard beekeeping to mushroom foraging to urban farms that use “gardening therapy” to assist at-risk populations, the food revolutionaries portrayed in this dense collection strive to effect positive change from the ground up – literally. A Navajo farmer teaches about heritage foods and traditional Navajo agriculture from her farm in Tuba City, Ariz. Across the country, the nonprofit Nuestras Raíces uses an array of community gardens and agricultural projects to promote social and economic development in Puerto Rican neighborhoods in Holyoke, Mass.
In addition to the interviews, oral histories, and analyses of the various programs profiled, the book contains suggestions for starting your own local grassroots food movement, such as tips on how to establish a gleaning operation to benefit programs that feed the hungry, how to consume fish sustainably, and how to start a farm-to-school program. Reclaiming Our Food is a portrait of yes-we-can hope and inspiration for anyone who has even the slightest interest in the ways that real, honest food can change the world. What’s more, as the author of a book that demonstrates the ways we can put our money where are mouths are, Cobb practices what she preaches: 10% of her profits from sales of the book go directly to the programs featured within its covers.
This article appears in December 9 • 2011.