Letters to a Young Farmer: On Food, Farming, and Our Future - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1616895306 ISBN 13: 9781616895303

Publisher: Princeton Architectural Press, 2017

Synopsis

Letters to a Young Farmer is for everyone who appreciates good food grown with respect for the earth, people, animals, and community. Three dozen esteemed writers, farmers, chefs, activists, and visionaries address the highs and lows of farming life—as well as larger questions of how our food is produced and consumed—in vivid and personal detail. Barbara Kingsolver speaks to the tribe of farmers—some born to it, many self-selected—with love, admiration, and regret. Dan Barber traces the rediscovery of lost grains and foodways. Michael Pollan bridges the chasm between agriculture and nature. Bill McKibben connects the early human quest for beer to the modern challenge of farming in a rapidly changing climate. Congresswoman Chellie Pingree probes the politics of being a young farmer today. Farmer Mas Masumoto passes on family secrets to his daughter—and not-soon-forgotten stories to us all. Other contributors include Temple Grandin, Verlyn Klinkenborg, Wendell Berry, Rick Bayless, and Marion Nestle.

Letters to a Young Farmer is both a compelling history and a vital road map—a reckoning of how we eat and farm; how the two can come together to build a more sustainable future; and why now, more than ever before, we need farmers.

About this title

About the Author:

Martha Hodgkins is communications director at Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture. A former editor of Nature Conservancy magazine, she is the editor of In Response to Place: Photographs from The Nature Conservancy's Last Great Places and The Field Guide to The Nature Conservancy.

Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture is on a mission to create a healthy and sustainable food system that benefits us all. A nonprofit organization, Stone Barns Center works to develop a culture of eating based on what farms need to grow to build healthy soil and a resilient ecosystem. In its quest to transform the way America eats and farms, the organization trains farmers, educates food citizens, develops agroecological farming practices, and convenes change makers. Stone Barns Center, 25 miles north of New York City, is home to the celebrated Blue Hill at Stone Barns, under the direction of chef and co-owner Dan Barber, a multiple James Beard award–winner.

Review:

"Farmers growing food for their communities, grown with sustainable practices and sold at farm stands and nearby farmers markets - this is a trend we all must support for the health of the land and ourselves. This book is a wonderful tribute to those who have volunteered to take hold of the future and nurture it." - Edible Communities

"Those writing at the intersection of nature and literature lend their thoughts to Letters to a Young Farmer, an impassioned essay collection for anyone interested in a closer relationship with the environment. Kentucky farmer and poet Wendell Berry and his daughter, the activist Mary Berry, write letters, as does the Kentucky-raised novelist Barbara Kingsolver, who champions dirty coveralls, Southern accents, and women in the field." - Garden and Gun

"This collection of letters from three dozen of the most respected figures in agriculture today-farmers, chefs, writers, philosophers, and activists including Joel Salatin, Temple Grandin, Wendell Berry, Karen Washington, and many others-draws on their collective wisdom to answer a single question: "What would you say to young people just starting out to farm?" The answers are equal parts educational and informative and offer wise reflections on how to grow healthy food in ways that treat land, animals, and people with respect."
- Civil Eats

"This book is a good read and has a feel-good message. It provides a nice overview of the many of the themes of the local, small, diversified farming movement.The essays are generally short, easy to read, and thought provoking. I recommend the book to its intended audience and to anyone who wants an overview of the many writers in the food movement have to say."
- Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development
"The message in [Letters to a Young Farmer] is that farming is hard, important, and needs to be taken seriously and thoughtfully (though with appropriate humor). Farmers, young and old, are speaking up for themselves, and everyone who eats can learn something from them..The essays form a cohesive vision of contemporary farming, including real solutions for problems such as climate change and jobs in rural areas." - Library Journal

"The book is a call to arms not only for young and would-be farmers, but also for anyone who cares about the food system in general. Although the public's awareness of the issues confronting farmers certainly won't be raised overnight, Letters to a Young Farmer is an important step forward. As [Barbara] Kingsolver writes in one of the first letters, 'We need farmers every single day of our lives, beginning to end, no exceptions. We forgot about that for awhile, and the price was immense. Slowly, we're coming back to our senses. Be patient with us. We need you." -marthastewart.com

"The 38 letters and essays in this inspiring book are a must-read for new and aspiring farmers. It is also important that consumers and those who make use of high-quality food in their restaurants and other food-related businesses read these letters. Non-farming readers will better understand the challenges faced by new farmers and appreciate that most farmers who produce high-quality food with sustainable farming practices are underpaid and sometimes undervalued for their wonderful produce and their sustainable stewardship of farmland."
- Canadian Organic Farmer

"Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture is committed to "farming for the future," a concept that is explored in Letters to a Young Farmer, a collection of 36 essays written by pillars of the food and farming community including Wendell Berry, Barbara Kingsolver and Michael Pollan. The inspiring anthology focuses on land stewardship, climate change and advice to fledgling farmers everywhere." - Edible Aspen

"Longtime advocates of sustainable agriculture join with new voices for a comradely take on the challenging future of farming.. warnings are balanced by plausible strategies for reforming our food system, practical advice, and optimism regarding farming's future in this noble, difficult field." - Kirkus Reviews

"Leaders of the food world, such as farmer Joel Salatin, animal-science professor Temple Grandin, and chef Dan Barber, share wisdom for farmers - and eaters. A reminder to support those who are brave enough to nourish us." - Eating Well Magazine

About this edition

• Publisher: Princeton Architectural Press
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 1616895306
• ISBN 13: 9781616895303
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 176
• Editor: Hodgkins Martha