This is just a list of books that I’ve read that are somewhat on the topic of this blog and have influenced me. They are some of the books on the topic of food and economy that have influenced me. It’s a somewhat short list and other books that I want to read, which are probably good resources, are not yet included. They will be added as I read them.
I’ve found all of these books at the Upper Skagit Library and I urge you to check your local branch or do an interlibrary loan. If you want to purchase any of the titles, my first recommendation is your local bookstore or Powell’s Books online. Yes, Amazon has its roots in Seattle, but Powell’s is a wonderful independent new and used bookstore based in Portland.
Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal by Eric Schlosser
Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals by Michael Pollan
Renewing the Countryside: Washington by Ingrid Dankmeyer
Hungry Planet: What the World Eats by Peter Menzel and Faith D’Aluisio
Supersize Me by Morgan Spurlock (film)
End of Suburbia by Gregory Greene (film)
Fields of Plenty by Michael Ableman
Gardening When It Counts by Steve Solomon
Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies by Jared Diamond
Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed by Jared Diamond
Against The Grain: How Agriculture Has Hijacked Civilization by Richard Manning
On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen by Harold McGee
Three more books worth reading:
Hope’s Edge: the Next Diet for a Small Planet by Frances Moore Lappe and Anna Lappe
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver
Harvest for Hope by Jane Goodall
Great contributions to the list! Thanks, Jane. 🙂
Great list, Saara! Here are a few favorites of mine I think you will enjoy (if you haven’t already read them since you posted your list):
Holy Cows & Hog Heaven, by Joel Salatin
Pasture Perfect, by Jo Robinson (she’s from Vashon!)
The Farmer and the Grill, by Shannon Hayes
Great blog -looking forward to reading more.
This is a great list and a great site. I look forward to keeping up with it more.
I’m sort of doing a local foodshed theme (north olympic peninsula area) on my blog.
Other books:
The Unsettling of America – Wendell Berry
Gardening West of the Cascades – Steve Soloman
Market Gardening – Elliot Coleman
Everything I want to do is Illegal – Joel Salatin