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Food Revolution

Mad Cowboy
Small Wonder

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Small Wonder

by Barbara Kingsolver

I've long been a huge Kingsolver fan, but her fiction--although wonderfully, complicatedly political and pointed at times--isn't exactly fare you'd find necessarily relevant in this site's bookstore. Small Wonder, the author's second book of essays, *is* a sure fit because of its wide-ranging coverage of environmental, ecological, economic, media, and social justice issues; and because of its respect for an audience who thinks and cares.

I've got plenty of books here on environmental issues, but nowhere else in this or any bookstore will you find such a distinctive and contemplative perspective. No dry expositions here. Uniquely Kingsolver, these eloquent, intensely honest, and deeply intelligent explorations of the most difficult and crucial questions of our time honor the complexity of our world and its concerns in the fullest. Her clear, graceful prose, at once assured and humble, is an invitation to reflect with her. If you care about the earth, about children, animals, people, ethics, you will cheer as she speaks your heart for you, in the very poetry that may have been stuck in your throat.

While some of this collection was intended to be about the aftermath of September 11, she tackles topics like agriculture, GMOs and biodiversity with equally thoughtful, quiet, soulful musings. I resonate with Kingsolver's writing because she is both a scientist and an artist.

Food, animals and the environment aside, I think everyone--given the times we face now, and especially those who wish to wage peace in the current less-than-friendly environment--should get this book just for the extremely incisive, astute and passionate examination of patriotism and to whom the American flag belongs.

Bravo, Barbara.
Buy this book now.
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The Food Revolution

by John Robbins

From Publishers Weekly:

What can we do to help stop global warming, feed the hungry, prevent cruelty to animals, avoid genetically modified foods, be healthier and live longer? Eat vegetarian, Robbins (Diet for a New America) argues. Noting the massive changes in the environment, food-production methods, and technology over the last two decades, he lambasts (in a manner less tough-mindedly restrained than Frances Moore Lappe's classic Diet for a Small Planet) contemporary factory-farming methods and demonstrates that individual dietary choices can be both empowering and have a broader impact.

Robbins, heir to the Baskin-Robbins ice-cream empire (he rejected it to live according to his values) takes on fad diets, the meat industry, food irradiation, hormone and antibiotic use in animals, cruel animal husbandry practices, the economics of meat consumption, biotechnology and the prevalence of salmonella and E. Coli. Some details are downright revolting (euthanized dogs and cats often are made into cattle feed), horrific (some 90% of cows, pigs and poultry are still conscious when butchered) and mind-boggling (it takes 5,214 gallons of water to produce one pound of beef).

Despite all this and more distressing information, Robbins ends on a hopeful note, detailing growth in organic farming, public awareness and consumer activism worldwide, as well as policy changes, especially in Europe. Well researched and lucidly written, if sometimes overly sentimental and burdened by cliched rhetoric, this book is sure to spark discussion and incite readers to examine their food choices.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

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Mad Cowboy

Mad Cowboy: Plain Truth from the Cattle Rancher Who Won't Eat Meat
by Howard F. Lyman

I had the joy of hearing Howard Lyman speak in my hometown in summer 1998, and found him to be not only a dear and authentic person but a most articulate and succinct purveyor of my favorite messages. (You know how great it feels when you hear someone saying everything you always say--or try to--and saying it at least as well as you do, probably better? And you don't care because you want people to hear it, more than you want them to hear it from you? That's how Howard Lyman made me feel.)

Funny and dead serious at the same time, Lyman's voice is straightforward and compelling. You won't find anyone more "real-person" than he is, nor probably anyone who seemed more unlikely to become an advocate for vegetarianism. Yet there probably aren't many people more uniquely positioned to criticize and challenge the industries and politics he has taken on, because he's a total insider.

Lyman's not dogmatic or righteous and he doesn't tell people what to do. He doesn't ask everyone to change, or anyone to change overnight. All he asks is that you think (I couldn't have said it better!) about the issues he raises and the facts and stories he tells. He presents the web of perils from an animal-based diet--threats to personal health, to our earth, to farmers and to animals--with an articulate deftness that belies his down-home demeanor. He doesn't really need to force the issue--the facts stand alone with stark and convincing authority.

Lyman himself is an authority. A fourth-generation Montana farmer and cattle rancher, he began to question his vocation and the effect it was having on people and the land he loved when he narrowly escaped paralysis from a spinal tumor. He began to raise questions about the pesticides, growth hormone, and ground-up remains of dogs, cats, and cows he and other ranchers fed their cattle, as well as the staggering resources going into the business and the havoc it wreaked on the land. Along his journey from meat-loving cowboy to vegetarian environmental activist and organic farmer, Lyman lost 130 pounds and 150 points in his blood cholesterol. His journey took him to Washington D.C, through meetings with legislators and scientists, through the red tape and propaganda of government and big business, and to the Oprah Winfrey show, where he bared the truth about modern ranching and farming practices. Co-named in the "food disparagement" suit against Oprah filed by Texas cattleman--which they won--he has since taken to the road to present his story with an integrity, courage and good-humored optimism that fills me with hope for people, animals and the planet. That's a tall order for any book or person, but Howard Lyman delivers.

And if all that's not enough, I especially recommend pages 156-169 of this book, in which he addresses the high-protein diet fad/mystique in a clear, concise, thorough and fearless fashion. I suggest this piece of his book as a requisite complement to those parts of my website that are dedicated to commentary on carb myths and high-protein fallacy. If I had a new book out right now, it would essentially say what Lyman says in these pages.

This is the book you buy for people who have thus far ignored you about vegetarianism or even just a generally healthy diet. Among the uniformly five-star Amazon Customer Comments, you'll find one from a dad who admitted he dismissed his son on the subject till this book came along--now he's vegetarian! Lyman is simply that compelling. He's so refreshing and inspiring that he brings me a sense of joy about what I do, personally and professionally.

MORE PRAISE FOR THIS BOOK:
"I can honestly say that there is not a man on this planet I respect more than Howard Lyman...Buy ten copies; give them to people you love. This is the real thing."
-John Robbins, author of Diet for a New America and The Food Revolution (see above!)

ALSO SEE:
Ex-Cattleman's Warning Was No Bum Steer; Rancher Raised Flag on Mad Cow Long Ago
Washington Post, Friday, January 2, 2004; Page C01

Robyn Landis' Op-Ed in the Seattle P-I about Mad Cow disease

Special News Center for Mad Cow Coverage on BodyFueling.com

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