Rain Forest in Your Kitchen: The Hidden Connection Between Extinction And Your Supermarket

The biodiversity crisis—the extinction of thousands of species of plants and animals—is not just a faraway problem for scientists to solve. Instead, the crisis is as close as our backyards, our gardens, and our refrigerator shelves. This engaging, practical guide inspires average Americans to wield their consumer power in favor of protecting the world's plant and animal species.Environmentalist activist Martin Teitel offers compelling evidence that by slightly modifying how we shop, eat, and garden, we can collectively influence the operating decisions of today's corporate agribusiness and help preserve our precious genetic resources. Teitel offers strategies so simple that they require no significant lifestyle change or expense.

Teitel here assesses the loss of "biodiversity" in our food sources and the potential cost to ourselves. By biodiversity, he means the various available species of seeds or livestock. He cites statistics that show how the growth of large corporate farms has narrowed our choices to those species that ship well or reproduce quickly. The subsequent loss of diversity, he points out, is risky, as it reduces the available gene pool. It is possible that future generations may not have enough genetic resources to call on for survival. Consumers, however, have more clout than they realize, Teitel asserts, and they can make small but significant changes. Instead of buying greenhouse vegetables year-round, he advises, opt for jicamas, cabbages and dried tomatoes. Teitel also urges us to look for food sources besides the usual supermarkets; roadside stands and health-food stores are options. Others include organizations dedicated to preserving historical or organic seed sources and livestock. This book is a good resource for anyone who wants to learn more about how we've damaged the food chain--and what we can do about it.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

The importance of biodiversity is increasingly made clear by the plight of the rainforest. Species are disappearing before their existence is even known, let alone their potential benefits to humanity. The scenario is much the same for our domestic food supply. Supermarkets nationwide respond to consumer demand by providing food that is the product of monoculture factory farming. As the diversity of the gene pool declines, the rate of extinction increases. For example, 90 percent of all chicken eggs sold in the U.S. are white and laid by the breed White Leghorn, which themselves are supplied by only a small number of hatcheries. What happens if that population should be eliminated? This book presents the problem in an approachable manner and offers multiple solutions that are easily possible for anyone. Buy brown eggs. Such a demand would necessitate increased production, which would in turn help to diversify the genetic pool. An important and interesting book.
- Kathleen L. Atwood, Pomfret Sch. Lib., Ct.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.