Synopsis
An illustrated celebration of organically grown food and the land and people who produce it; a photographic journey over five continents that investigates traditions thousands of years old. It invites us to turn back to the land, to appreciate time-honoured growing techniques, to take food less for granted and to enjoy it more. Farmer and photographer Michael Ableman long ago rejected the mechanized agriculture standard on modern farms. He turned to cultures and individuals who grow food in ways that sustain their communities and care for the land. Over a period of seven years he visited farmers in southern China, the Peruvian Andes, central Africa, Sicily, the American Southwest and further afield, looking for clues to environment-friendly and healthful cultivation. He toured the vast tracts of America's factory farms, and he found hundreds of "new" farmers and gardeners. And he chronicled his findings in this text, with evocative colour plates that record agricultural methods and enshrine a cornucopia of natural foodstuffs. A treasury of information and inspiration, "From the Good Earth" is for everyone who enjoys good food, gardening and the bounty of the earth. Michael Ableman runs Fairview Gardens Farm in Goleta, Califomia, which yields over 100 varieties of organic produce and serves as an educational and community centre.
From Library Journal
This book is a tribute to agriculture and the great diversity of practices and customs that surround it. Ableman, a California organic farmer, presents a photographic essay with 170 full-color photographs of farming practices in China, Kenya, Burundi, Italy, Peru, the American Southwest, and elsewhere. His photos include fields that rely on many different cropping practices, markets displaying an array of foods for interested buyers, urban plots, and plants grown in backyard gardens and pots. We catch a glimpse of people of all ages and many cultures involved in producing and selling food and their links with community and culture. The accompanying text offers Ableman's perspectives on the contrast between industrial agriculture, which uses heavy machinery and chemicals, and the labor-intensive, nonchemical approaches still used in most of the world. He urges us to understand the interconnections between our food, our health, our communities, and our environment for the sake of the planet's future. Recommended.
- Irwin Weintraub, Rutgers Univ. Lib., Piscataway, N.J.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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