Raising Less Corn, More Hell: The Case for the Independent Farm and Against Industrial Food
by George Pyle
2005
PublicAffairs Books
Can American farmers feed more of the world's hungry by growing fewer crops? Veteran journalist Pyle argues that they can—and they must, if the planet's food supply is to remain ample and safe. Growing too much food, Pyle says, actually exacerbates world hunger. Grain gluts, for example, result in dumping of crops in developing countries. Local farmers can't compete against the cheap American imports and go out of business. Large-scale industrialized agriculture threatens food safety, impoverishes American farmers and contributes to obesity and other health problems. Contrary to agribusiness's insistence that we need bigger factory farms and more genetically modified crops, Pyle claims that we can better feed the world by decreasing production (and thus heavy reliance on polluting fertilizers and pesticides), diversifying crop species, honoring local production methods and supporting small-scale independent farms. "The problems of food will not be solved with industrial solutions," he writes, "because food, no matter how hard we try to rationalize otherwise, is not an industry." His well-researched, lucid and passionate argument explains not only what is wrong with U.S. agricultural policy but why it matters. --Publishers Weekly
Mad Sheep: The True Story Behind the USDA's War on a Family Farm
by Linda Faillace
2006
Chelsea Green Publishing Company
If this were a novel, you probably wouldn't believe it. But the story of a Vermont farming family driven out of business by a government agency is true--and truly frightening. When the Faillaces (author Linda and her husband, Larry) went into the sheep-farming business, they followed every USDA guideline. Then, once their operation was running, that same agency told them their sheep would have to be destroyed because they might spread "mad cow" disease. Despite the Faillaces' abundant proof that their sheep were disease free--and, moreover, posed no risk whatsoever--the USDA forcibly shut the farm down. The agency's actions ultimately had nothing to do with the health of the Faillaces' sheep but much to do with the health of the American beef industry, which could be adversely affected if people believed there was mad cow in the U.S. The author has every right to be bitter, but she maintains an even tone, presenting us with the evidence and letting us see what happened and why. But if you can read the book without getting mad, you're not reading it carefully. --Booklist
