Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life

Book Description

Bestselling author Barbara Kingsolver returns with her first nonfiction narrative that will open your eyes in a hundred new ways to an old truth: You are what you eat.

"As the U.S. population made an unprecedented mad dash for the Sun Belt, one carload of us paddled against the tide, heading for the Promised Land where water falls from the sky and green stuff grows all around. We were about to begin the adventure of realigning our lives with our food chain.

"Naturally, our first stop was to buy junk food and fossil fuel. . . ."

Hang on for the ride: With characteristic poetry and pluck, Barbara Kingsolver and her family sweep readers along on their journey away from the industrial-food pipeline to a rural life in which they vow to buy only food raised in their own neighborhood, grow it themselves, or learn to live without it. Their good-humored search yields surprising discoveries about turkey sex life and overly zealous zucchini plants, en route to a food culture that's better for the neighborhood and also better on the table. Part memoir, part journalistic investigation, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle makes a passionate case for putting the kitchen back at the center of family life and diversified farms at the center of the American diet.

"This is the story of a year in which we made every attempt to feed ourselves animals and vegetables whose provenance we really knew . . . and of how our family was changed by our first year of deliberately eating food produced from the same place where we worked, went to school, loved our neighbors, drank the water, and breathed the air."

Customer Reviews:

Thinking about your food.......2007-10-05

Ms Kingsolver writes smoothly and with passion about organic farming. Sidebars from her college age daughter cover practical personal concerns, complete with recipes to enjoy the seasonal bounty of the land; while ones from her husband give the political overview of how farming policies affect us all on a world level. All in my book group enjoyed the book as a whole. It was obviously edited tightly to be easy and fast to read while still introducing ideas that would be unusual to most people in North America. As one with a extensive backyard fruit and vegetable garden in California, I would have enjoyed more detailed planning information on how she decided what and how much to plant, why she did not try to raise more and different animals for food, (e.g., rabbits, sheep, or even guinea pigs)and what she could have done with a greenhouse and solar or wind power.

Powerful Read.......2007-10-04

I think this is an important book about our society, economy and values. While it can be a bit preachy at times, Barbara's humor is wonderfully dry. I highly recommend.

Great book and fun to read! .......2007-10-01

I loved the book, it was informative and entertaining. Everyone can benefit from reading it and trying to follow Barbara's lead.

Lifechanging book.......2007-10-01

I heard an interview on NPR with the author and purchased this book because her ideas were very interesting to me. I was not disappointed. This book was riveting and eye opening. I've been checking out the websites suggested in the book to find local harvest information and I intend to frequent my local farmers and farmers markets during next years growing season and maybe even try my hand at canning. I'm hooked. Thank you so much for this wonderful informative book.

Totally Awesome!.......2007-09-29

This is one of the best books on what's wrong with our Farm Bill and our Standard American Diet (SAD) and how to fix it! The Kingsolver family have done a great and wonderful service for our country and the world by creating this wonderful book. It should be required reading in every school in the country!

Food Not Lawns: How to Turn Your Yard into a Garden And Your Neighborhood into a Community

Average customer rating:

An inspired 40-something
completely false advertising
if you are over 40 skip it... so gen X
Not just Gardening--A guide to Activism and Environmentalism
Keys to change any reader can use.

Food Not Lawns: How to Turn Your Yard into a Garden And Your Neighborhood into a Community
Heather C. Flores
Manufacturer: Chelsea Green
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 193339207X

Book Description

Gardening can be a political act. Creativity, fulfillment, connection, revolution--it all begins when we get our hands in the dirt. Food Not Lawns combines practical wisdom on ecological design and community-building with a fresh, green perspective on an age-old subject. Activist and urban gardener Heather Flores shares her nine-step permaculture design to help farmsteaders and city dwellers alike build fertile soil, promote biodiversity, and increase natural habitat in their own "paradise gardens." But Food Not Lawns doesn't begin and end in the seed bed. This joyful permaculture lifestyle manual inspires readers to apply the principles of the paradise garden--simplicity, resourcefulness, creativity, mindfulness, and community--to all aspects of life. Plant "guerilla gardens" in barren intersections and medians; organize community meals; start a street theater troupe or host a local art swap; free your kitchen from refrigeration and enjoy truly fresh, nourishing foods from your own plot of land; work with children to create garden play spaces. Flores cares passionately about the damaged state of our environment and the ills of our throwaway society. In Food Not Lawns, she shows us how to reclaim the earth one garden at a time.

Customer Reviews:

An inspired 40-something.......2007-09-04

Food Not Lawns speaks to my heart and has inspired me in my home gardening. I bought copies for two dear gardening friends who are in their 20's and 30's, and they are also excited by the ideas presented in the book. The author takes a holistic view of community and gardening, of working with Nature as an orchestra of forces influencing each other and working collectively together. Heather Flores encourages us to think out of the box and some might find that uncomfortable, but I still think her vision and sense of hope is so needed in our world today. Share this book with family and friends!

completely false advertising.......2007-07-05

I see that this books appears a hit with many reviewers, but I am unfortunately going to dissent. I was excited to read this book when it arrived and was subsequently dissappointed in the overall quality of the work as a whole. First and foremost, Flores leaves out a great deal of detail with regard to the actual work involved in any form of agriculture, be it animal husbandry, permaculture, or anything between. I say this not only as an avid reader, but also an environmental studies major reviewing the work for a class as well. Second, Flores' method of combining the topics of agriculture and social change is facetious at best, with no real segway from the former to the latter. In other words, this is literally two unconnected books sharing the same binding. Finally, and most disheartening of all, the work gives faulty advice at best, especially with regard to her advice on dealing with numerous aspects of gardening (traditional and permaculture), pending jail time, and conflict management strategies(with latter are potentially dangerous). I will also note that I resold this book immediately upon completion due to the above. Those interested would be better served to read The Good Life by Helen and Scott Nearing, or other such related books by other reputable authors such as Joseph Jenkins, Eliot Coleman, Louise Riotte, or John and Martha Storey. In short, do not purchase this book if you are serious about either agriculture or social change.

if you are over 40 skip it... so gen X.......2007-05-25

This is a very shallow book by the new generation of writers that find fault with everything done in the twenty years before they were born,
Its very shallow, big type and very preachy.
If you are interested in gardening, try Giaas garden, a much more serious study of permiculture.
In this rambling book, the aurthor boasts of not making over 8 k a year, but inherited the money to buy her farm!
I liked camping living until I was thirty, now I am 45 and really like my freezer and new stove.( yes, I have my own three hens and belong to a CSA)
I know a number of the original flower/farm people, and as they got older they liked having a few more comforts.

So this is one of the new gen X books, shallow to a fault. Nothing but sound bites.
the aurthor sems all hyped about third world living, but I am not sure she has ever been to a third world and seen how hard that style of life is,,it is easy to glamorius the distant!!!

Not just Gardening--A guide to Activism and Environmentalism.......2007-01-23

I picked up this book to learn practical application of permacultural principles applied to urban yard scales--and there is a wealth of such information here. However, I do feel like Flores preaches just a little too much about the environmental destruction and political problems currently plaguing our country. In my view, anyone picking up a book called Food Not Lawns probably is already well-versed in such issues, and Flores is essentially preaching to the converted. That said, this book DOES have tons of practical information, and I would recommend it as an excellent counterbalance and companion book to Toby Hemenway's Gaia's Garden.

Keys to change any reader can use........2006-12-14

For activist readers who believe activism is a political pursuit, FOOD NOT LAWNS: HOW TO TURN YOUR YARD INTO A GARDEN AND YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD INTO A COMMUNITY offers a different viewpoint, maintaining that growing food where you live is a key method of becoming a food activist in the community. Chapters advocate planting home and community gardens with an eye to drawing important connections between the politics of a home or community garden and the wider politics of usage, consumption, and sustainability. Another rarity: chapters promote small, easy changes in lifestyles to achieve a transition between personal choice and political activism at the community level, providing keys to change any reader can use.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

Teaming with Microbes: A Gardener's Guide to the Soil Food Web

Average customer rating:

Very good book
Learned a great deal about improving my gardens
A must read for anyone who cares about the environment
Easy reading and informative
This book will introduce you to your soil for the very first time.

Teaming with Microbes: A Gardener's Guide to the Soil Food Web
Jeff Lowenfels , and Wayne Lewis
Manufacturer: Timber Press, Incorporated
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0881927775

Book Description

Smart gardeners know that soil is anything but an inert substance. Healthy soil is teeming with life — not just earthworms and insects, but a staggering multitude of bacteria, fungi, and other microorganisms. When we use chemical fertilizers, we injure the microbial life that sustains healthy plants, and thus become increasingly dependent on an arsenal of artificial substances, many of them toxic to humans as well as other forms of life. But there is an alternative to this vicious circle: to garden in a way that strengthens, rather than destroys, the soil food web — the complex world of soil-dwelling organisms whose interactions create a nurturing environment for plants. By eschewing jargon and overly technical language, the authors make the benefits of cultivating the soil food web available to a wide audience, from devotees of organic gardening techniques to weekend gardeners who simply want to grow healthy, vigorous plants without resorting to chemicals.

Customer Reviews:

Very good book.......2007-09-30

I am a very seasoned gardener already using many of the techniques proposed by the book. However my approach was based on intuition and experience. This book explains how all fits together in a simpler and more accessible way than the Soil Microbiology treatises.
Strongly recommended for gardeners of all levels.

Learned a great deal about improving my gardens.......2007-09-18

I has astonished at how much new information this book covered. Just the section on new oxygen activated compost teas was worth the price of the book. Highly recommended. I am starting to use the teas and can't wait to see the results.

A must read for anyone who cares about the environment.......2007-07-07

As other reviewers noted this is a 5+ star book. I agree w/ their comments and really have little more to add. I think the authors are passionate about their subject, not only as shown by the book's interesting content, but the presentation of this book. They choose high quality paper (should it have been recycled???) with beautiful photos of the soil's hidden helpers. I read it in an afternoon as one would a novel and highlighted pssages as I went along for easy reference.

Easy reading and informative.......2007-06-27

I had to get this book for a botanical class I am taking. As I began to read this book I am grateful that this is the recommended text. It is pleasant to read and informative.

This book will introduce you to your soil for the very first time........2007-06-18

I've been writing on gardening subjects for 15 years, and have read a lot of what other authors write about soil, but I've never read anything like Teaming with Microbes. This book changed everything for me. I'm convinced that this is the best book ever written for non academics on soil science -- so much so that I intend to write a new book in my series of How-to-Grow World Class Giant Pumpkins II: Sequel to the Classic Book on Growing Giant Pumpkins from an entirely new viewpoint -- that in which I let the billions upon billions of microbes work for me, instead of me interfering with the optimum results. This book will make you so aware of your soil, that you will never use another pesticide or mineral fertilizer again. Mark my words: Teaming with Microbes changes everything.

Average customer rating:

Great book to answer questions
Managing Your Ewe
NO BARN SHOULD BE WITHOUT ONE !!!

Managing Your Ewe and Her Newborn Lambs
Laura Lawson
Manufacturer: T D F Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Food Animals | Veterinary Medicine | Medicine | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 096339231X

Customer Reviews:

Great book to answer questions.......2007-06-05

This book was a lamb and ewe saver. My very first lambing season I had the lambing chapter practically memorized before hand. And my first ewe had problems. But by reading the hints, encouragement from my husband and gritting my teeth - I got the lamb pulled out. Saved both the lamb and ewe - second lamb born with no problems. Lambs are now six weeks old and growing like weeds.

Managing Your Ewe.......2000-07-07

If you can only afford one book on breeding or managing ewes and lambs, make it this one. The format for diagnosing your ewes problem, condition, emergency or whatever, is absolutely clear and accurate. This is the best information available. Highly recommended.

NO BARN SHOULD BE WITHOUT ONE !!!.......1998-03-09

I am a vet tech and this book has gotten me through alot of questions, not to mention helping me with my own flock of sheep. This book is right on the seat of my truck along side my Border Collie "Don" when I go out on farm calls. Never leave without it. I like the fact that all the dosages are right in the book no need to take time to figure it out. Great book !

The Forager's Harvest: A Guide to Identifying, Harvesting, and Preparing Edible Wild Plants

Average customer rating:

Euell Gibbons was the Bible, Sam Thayer is the New Testament!
Great first book for a beginner
Empowers you to actually forage - right to your dining table!
The Forager's Harvest
Excellent Source for Information on a few plants...

The Forager's Harvest: A Guide to Identifying, Harvesting, and Preparing Edible Wild Plants
Samuel Thayer
Manufacturer: Forager's Harvest Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0976626608

Book Description

A practical guide to all aspects of edible wild plants: finding and identifying them, their seasons of harvest, and their methods of collection and preparation. Each plant is discussed in great detail and accompanied by excellent color photographs. Includes an index, illustrated glossary, bibliography, and harvest calendar. The perfect guide for all experience levels.

Customer Reviews:

Euell Gibbons was the Bible, Sam Thayer is the New Testament!.......2007-06-29

I have been interested in wild edible plants for years but it wasn't until i picked up a copy of Sam's book that i became and avid forager.
Subtle things that have to do with preperation of the plant, exactly what part of the plant, when to gather it specifically and how to correctly process wild food seems to remain mysteriously vacant from many wild food field guides out there today. Sam's book goes deep into the preperation aspect of the plants where other books come up short.

Granted, he doesn't cover a volumous number of species in this book. However, what he does cover is laid out in exaustive detail. When so many plant books seem to be a regurgitation of the same information over and over again, Forager's Harvest comes as a breath of fresh air.

The subjects on milkweed and cattail alone are worth the price for this fine book. It's obvious that Sam lives this stuff as it is evident by his meticulate records and passionate writing. I have found much of what is in this book to be true ( i haven't harvested all the plants in this book yet.)

I would totally recommend this book as "the book" to get if serious about harvesting wild plants. It may be helpful for beginer's to also get a good solid plant id guide like 'Newcombs Wildflower Guide' and 'Botany in a Day.'

Great first book for a beginner.......2007-04-10

This is a good first book for a beginner, the author is very knowledgeable. This guy lives in a cabin and he actually applies this stuff everyday so he practices what he preaches he doesn't just have head knowledge. He also warns of other such books that list poisonous plants as edible.

Empowers you to actually forage - right to your dining table!.......2007-04-04

My kids and I have almost finished reading this whole book aloud because it is like a story in amazingly useful order. We have already eaten some of the foods and can't wait to walk the byways to find other plants Samuel Thayer describes. He is so complete and believable and does this for a gourmet taste -- not to eat stuff the tastes like bitter medicine!

The Forager's Harvest.......2007-03-29

The best of the wild-edibles field guides. If I could only have one on my bookshelf, this would be it.

Excellent Source for Information on a few plants..........2007-02-19

This book offers an excellent introducion to the practice of wild plant harvesting. Not only are the plants discussed (in great detail), but the author includes many personal experiences and additional information (the first 75 pages - timing, storage, etc.) - including recomendations on further book resources. The descriptions of the two dozen or so plants are extensive. The book gives information on ID, range, harvesting, and preparation. I live in Washington State, though, and I have only found about 11 of the plant species readily available here (Choke Cherry, Wapato, Butternut(in urban settings), Black Locust, Cattail, Stinging Nettle, Serviceberry, Sumac (Staghorn), Linden (urban ornamental), Burdock, and Thistle). The book is still a wealth of inforomation and a very valuable resource.

Stolen Harvest: The Hijacking of the Global Food Supply

Average customer rating:

great information, weak on analysis
Informative and compelling
great book, scared me to death !
Critically important for environmentalists & students.
Brilliance

Stolen Harvest: The Hijacking of the Global Food Supply
Vandana Shiva
Manufacturer: South End Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0896086070

Book Description

Contents

Introduction
Chapter 1 The Hijacking of the Global Food Supply
Chapter 2 Soy Imperialism and the Destruction of Local Food Cultures
Chapter 3 The Stolen Harvest Under the Sea
Chapter 4 Mad Cows and Sacred Cows
Chapter 5 The Stolen Harvest of Seed
Chapter 6 Genetic Engineering and Food Security
Chapter 7 Reclaiming Food Democracy

Customer Reviews:

great information, weak on analysis.......2004-10-15

I'm afraid I must dissent from the rave reviews this book has gotten. It's a good book, but it's not wonderful. It's very strong at presenting the ways that the corporatization of food production is destructive of human health, the environment, and the livelihood of poor farmers, fisher folk and the like. There's lots of examples, lots of strong empirical data to back up Shiva's claims. Her analysis about why all this is going on is lacking though. It's not that I disagree with her critique of the WTO, multinational corporations, monoculture and her affirmation of the need for humanity to live in harmony with nature. It's just that she barely does more than sketch these arguments out. I understand that this is not meant to be an academic book, but she could have developed her points in much more depth, while still using accessible language and ideas. This book has potential it didn't achieve.

Informative and compelling.......2002-05-18

In this remarkable book, Vandana Shiva effectively contrasts corporate command-and-control methods of food production with the small farmer economy that predominates in the third world (especially in her native India). In contast to what many here in the U.S. might perceive as the conventional wisdom, Shiva makes a strong argument that local, small scale agriculture is superior to the agribusiness model for a number of reasons.

First, Shiva points out that many of the productivity gains attributable to the Green Revolution were achieved by dramatically increased inputs of fertilizer, seed and water. When one compares units of input with units of output, however, native practices produce higher yields -- especially when one takes into account the multiple uses derived from a single product.

For example, mustard oil is a vital product used by many of India's poor for cooking, seasoning, medicine and other uses. But it has been banned by the Indian government (under highly suspicious circumstances) in order to allow imports of soybean oil products. While giant corporations benefit from expanded sales, native industries have been destroyed, contibuting to poverty and malnourishment.

Shiva discusses the commercial fishing and aquaculture (shrimp farming) practices that inevitably result in environmental destruction and reduced catches. She compares this short-sighted approach with traditional Indian fishing techniques that have successfully sustained themselves for generations while protecting important ecosystems such as mangrove forests.

Shiva discusses corporate patenting of seeds, which insidiously transforms the cooperative ethic of seed sharing into a criminal offense. The author supports a non-cooperation movement in India that is resisting corporate attempts to claim ownership of seeds that have been cultivated by countless generations of farmers.

Shiva's sacred cow / mad cow metaphor effectively and appropriately contrasts agribusiness with small farming. India's sacred cows live in harmony with the environment, performing multiple services and producing multiple products for the community; whereas mad cows are a grotesque manifestation of an industrial system obsessed with uniformity, technology and profit.

Shiva also touches on the topic of genetic engineering (GE) and discusses the threat it poses to biodiversity, food safety and human health.

The Afterword to the book alludes to the WTO protests in Seattle. Shiva believes this watershed event proves that people are becoming more aware of the dangers of unaccountable corporate power, yet she believes that positive change is possible. This opening of consciousness to new possibilities may be attributable to the extraordinary work of people like Vandana Shiva, whose intelligence and compassion is abundantly evident in this book. Highly recommended!

great book, scared me to death !.......2001-09-29

this is a great book, i highly recomend it. i must warn you its not for the weak stomached, this book will CHANGE your view on the food you eat. i didnt eat for a week after reading this.

Critically important for environmentalists & students........2000-05-09

In Stolen Harvest: The Hijacking Of The Global Food Supply, renowned environmental activist Vandana Shiva charts the impacts of globalized, corporate agriculture on small farmers, the environment, and the quality of the food we eat. Shiva writes about genetically engineered seeds, patents on life, mad cows (and sacred cows), shrimp farming, and more. Stolen Harvest is a passionate, articulate, highly recommended "wake up" call to the public regarding the role of genetic engineering in commercial agriculture, the growing domination of agribusiness with respect to world food supplies, and the need for sound environmental thinking with respect to feeding the burgeoning populations of the world.

Brilliance.......2000-04-29

If you deplore the WTO and MN corporate control over the world's food supply through intellectual property rights and patents on genetically engineered seed - then reading Stolen Harvest is a must. Vandana Shiva brilliantly reveals the current crisis that Indian farmers are facing as Monsanto and other mega corps are jeopardizing the livelihoods of impoverished persons (worldwide) through seed monopoly and a centralized system of agriculture commerce. Shiva discusses the impact of industrial farming and aquaculture on the environment and how it stresses local populations and threatens the diversity of species. A MUST READ!

Average customer rating:

Excellent technical book on advanced food chemistry
Amazingly Comprehensive
Suitable only for reference
A must for every foodscientist and technologist

Food Chemistry, Third Edition
H.-D. Belitz , W. Grosch , and P. Schieberle
Manufacturer: Springer
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Accessories:

Handbook of Modern Sensors: Physics, Designs, and Applications (Handbook of Modern Sensors)
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ASIN: 3540408185

Book Description

The 3 ^rd edition has been extensively re-written and a number of new topics, many of which will be of particular interest to food technologists, have been introduced or completely revised. The book now comprises more than 620 tables and 472 figures, including the structural formulae of around 1.100 food components. This well-known and world-wide accepted advanced text and reference book is logically organized according to food constituents and commodities. It provides students and researchers in food science, food technology, agricultural chemistry and nutrition with up-to-date information. The extensive use of tables for easy reference, the wealth of information given, and the comprehensive subject index supports the advanced student into getting in-depth insight into food chemistry and technology and makes this book also a valuable on the job reference for chemists, food chemists, food technologists, engineers, biochemists, nutritionists, and analytical chemists in food and agricultural research, food industry, nutrition, food control, and service laboratories.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent technical book on advanced food chemistry.......2005-08-02

Food Chemistry is an amazing book, BUT, be careful before you buy it. You DO have to have a fairly strong background in the fundamentals of structure, nomenclature, reactions and the like involved in organic chemistry and biochemistry. They show some great reactions and offer some pretty helpful tables and charts on chemical properties and reactivities of various foodtsuffs. The later chapters, such as dairy, meat/fish, fruits are extremely comprehensive. I will at one point be using this as a text book for an advanced food chemistry course. However, if you are just beginning to explore food chemistry I would suggest starting out with "On Food and Cooking," and work your way up to this AFTER you get a bachelor's in chemistry

Amazingly Comprehensive.......2002-09-26

This text deserves much better accolades than what I have seen. First of all, it is a book about FOOD. It covers every food I know of, and many more I didnt know. Second, it is a CHEMISTRY book, so you WILL have trouble understanding it if you dont know what "CHO" means, or have no chemistry background!
It is extremely organized with chapters on proteins, enzymes, lipids, carbohydrates (CHO), vitamins, minerals, and even aroma substances and food additives (want to know what MSG really is?). There is a section on food contaminants that would interest anyone who prefers certified organic foods, or wonders why they should. The whole food sections are divided into dairy, eggs, meat seafood, cereals, legumes, fruits, vegetables, and sugars. There are even chapters on alcoholic beverages (any home beer or wine makers?), coffees and teas, spices, and water!
Of course, you can see this from looking at the table of contents, but what you dont see is the organization and attention to detail that he pain-stakingly provides. Do you want to know how toffee is made?, What happens to beef after the cow is executed? What were the first ancient grains grown? (enkorn and emmer are now being sold by many raw-food enthusiasts. How are "soy-meats" made? What fruit has the most lignans or sugar content? What is a crayfish? What happens when fruit ripens or which fruits have brain neurotransmitters like serotonin? Why do you need to take aspirin when many fruits have salicylates already in them? How much vitamin B-6 is destroyed during meat cooking?(45%), or vegetable cooking?(20-30%) What is red dye #2? How much mercury, lead, and cadmium are in the foods you eat?...and much more!
This book is certainly intended for the student of food technology with all the attention to chemical processes and aroma compounds, but the wealth of information on food in general could easily interest any nutritionist, vegetarian, raw-fooder or maybe even a creative chef! As a physician interested in healthy nutrition, my copy will have well worn pages. This author deserves tremendous praise for the immense amount of time he must have spent compiling so much knowledge of food, and in such an organized fashion, that I feel obligated to take the time to give him my personal ovation.

Suitable only for reference.......2001-11-29

If I were a professional food chemist looking for a reference book to remind me of all the food-related chemical reactions I'd learned in college, I might give this book 5 stars. I'm not a food chemist, though, and I was hoping for something that would actually educate me about some processes I don't understand very well. This book does not succeed on that score.

"Food Chemistry" makes little effort to actually teach the subjects it covers. All of the text has a very passive tone, describing chemical reactions and physical structures of food in a very disjointed way, such that there's never any real indication of why they're telling you anything. This weakness may be a result of translation from German, but somehow, I suspect this book was equally dry in the original.

Huge sections of the book are devoted to simply listing chelating agents, enzymes, lipids, etc., with a description of the chemical reactions each is involved in, but there is really no indication anywhere of why anybody should care about such things.

There is enough text to indicate that "Food Chemistry" is actually intended to be used as a textbook, but unless you already have a very thorough grounding in the principles of food chemistry, you won't be able to make much sense of it. Even if you actually do have sufficient background to make sense of the book, you probably don't need another textbook like this one. You may, however, find it quite useful for reference, or for filling in obscure details of chemical processes you already mostly understand.

Unless you regularly engage in food-related industrial or research chemistry, though, you will find this book almost completely useless.

A must for every foodscientist and technologist.......2000-07-19

This book is very valuable becasue it covers almost every subject with as much facts as possible. Therefore it is very usefull for quick reference.

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Basic Butchering of Livestock and Game
Save your money.
Nice
Where is the button for 10 stars?
A Must Have For Hunters

Basic Butchering of Livestock & Game
John J. Mettler
Manufacturer: Storey Publishing, LLC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Build a Smokehouse: Storey Country Wisdom Bulletin A-81 (A Storey Country Wisdom Bulletin)
A Guide to Canning, Freezing, Curing & Smoking Meat, Fish & Game
Cold-Smoking & Salt-Curing Meat, Fish, & Game
Field Guide To Meat: How To Identify, Select, and Prepare Virtually Every Meat, Poultry, and Game Cut
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ASIN: 0882663917

Book Description

This is the book for anyone who hunts, farms, or buys large quantities of meat. The author takes the mystery out of slaughtering and butchering everything from beef and veal, to venison, pork, and lamb. The text is clear and easy-to-follow. Combined with 130 detailed illustrations by Elayne Sears, the reader is provided with complete, step-by-step instructions. Here is everything you need to know: ; At what age to butcher an animal ; How to kill, skin, slaughter, and butcher How to dress out game in a field ; Salting, smoking, and preserving ; Tools, equipment, the setup ; More than thirty recipes using all kinds of meat An Outdoor Life Book Club Selection "Provides clear, concise, and step-by-step information for people who want to slaughter their own meat." (Mother Earth News) Author Biography: John J. Mettler, Jr., D.V.M., is a retired large-animal veterinarian in upstate New York and has written several books on animals, including Basic Butchering of Livestock and Game and Horse Sen

Customer Reviews:

Basic Butchering of Livestock and Game.......2007-01-07

Great for the beginner butcherer...recipes are good, but don't have all the ones that we were looking for but, what are in there are informative
I recommend to beginners...

Save your money........2006-11-12

I was very disappointed with this book. The information is sparse at best. I was hoping for step by step photographs. Nope. Not a single photograph anywhere in this book. I needed to know how to slaughter ducks. The only information on ducks is how to pluck them. Ducks are a much larger, heavier bird than chickens. Do you slaughter them the same way? I don't know. It's not addressed in the book. Frankly, you can get more information by "googling" than you can with this book.

Nice.......2005-11-06

Here's the thing - trying to learn how to butcher animals entirely from a book is kind of like trying to learn how to fly an airplane entirely from a book: the book's alright, but most of your understanding will come from being taught or mentored personally.

Anyway, this is about as good as you could hope for in a book. I bought it a couple of years ago when I kept sheep, and it did come in handy sometimes. But if you are serious about learning how to slaughter/butcher, my advice is to seek out a local guy who can show you personally how to do it. You'll learn way more that way, and far more quickly.

Best of luck.

Where is the button for 10 stars?.......2005-04-17

Every now and then you come across a book which is right on the spot. It's written by someone who is willing and capable to share his/her wealth of knowledge in a CLEAR way. This is one of those few books. From beef to rabbit, from pork to deer it teaches how to butcher. I read it a few times, I bought a whole lamb (with hide and guts) and I butchered it. I wouldn't say I made a work of art but all the cuts are there: back legs roasts. racks, riblets, roasts, trimmings. Don't expect instruction on fancy cuts: it's not the purpose of this book. The need of a power saw is slightly understated, though. If you butcher a large animal and you are not Hulk-sized, you may want to get one ... Absolutely recommended.

A Must Have For Hunters.......2003-12-16

This is an excellent book. This should be a required purchase for everyone who takes to the woods in pursuit of wild game for the table.

No more wasting meat or spending big money by taking your wild game to a professional meat processor, all you need to know is right here.

Amazon.com

Looping personal anecdotes from 40 years of global travels with stories from noble farmer Davids and corporate Goliaths, Goodall methodically builds her case for shopping organic and living modestly. Mustering a tender gumption, she details the vicious cycle of pesticide-ridden and genetically engineered crops which feed the unknowing majority of consumers; and also feed the antibiotic-treated animals that provide these folks with inexpensive entrees. Leaving nasty slaughterhouse scenes to less tactful pens, Goodall focuses more on the product of "factory farming" techniques: mountains of waste, nutritionally depleted soil, polluted water, displaced organic farmers, and severely compromised food.

Hope springs from positive sources: Edible Schoolyard programs in the U.K. and U.S., parents breaking their schools' "unholy alliance" with fast food chains and soft drink companies, a steady rise in organic purchases. Goodall offers many suggestions for rallying others, exercising one's own consumer powers, and just plain eating less meat. Conservationists might say this information is nothing new, which might explain why Goodall provides only tertiary references to her many statistics and facts. But for those who prefer that their own eating habits be stirred--not shaken--into question, the kindly Chimpanzee Lady provides the gentle touch required. --Liane Thomas

Book Description

World-renowned scientist and conservationist Jane Goodall earned her fame by studying chimpanzee feeding habits. But in Harvest for Hope, she scrutinizes human eating behaviors, and the colossal food industries that force-feed some cultures' self-destructive habits for mass consumption. It's an unsustainable lifestyle that Goodall argues must change immediately, beginning--not ironically--at a grassroots level.Looping personal anecdotes from 40 years of global travels with stories from noble farmer Davids and corporate Goliaths, Goodall methodically builds her case for shopping organic and living modestly. Mustering a tender gumption, she details the vicious cycle of pesticide-ridden and genetically engineered crops which feed the unknowing majority of consumers; and also feed the antibiotic-treated animals that provide these folks with inexpensive entrees. Leaving nasty slaughterhouse scenes to less tactful pens, Goodall focuses more on the product of "factory farming" techniques: mountains of waste, nutritionally depleted soil, polluted water, displaced organic farmers, and severely compromised food. Hope springs from positive sources: Edible Schoolyard programs in the U.K. and U.S., parents breaking their schools' "unholy alliance" with fast food chains and soft drink companies, a steady rise in organic purchases. Goodall offers many suggestions for rallying others, exercising one's own consumer powers, and just plain eating less meat. Conservationists might say this information is nothing new, which might explain why Goodall provides only tertiary references to her many statistics and facts. But for those who prefer that their own eating habits be stirred--not shaken--into question, the kindly Chimpanzee Lady provides the gentle touch required. --Liane Thomas

Customer Reviews:

Everyone should read this..........2007-04-17

It's time that everyone starts making changes, however small they may be. This book is perfect for just that! Jane Goodall has a warm way of conveying such critical information. An easy read, can't put it down!

Great information!.......2007-03-22

I read this book a long time ago (its been about two years) but Im still reminded of the big points that Jane Goodall brought up in her book.

Random stuff I remember.
- slightly boring in some parts (why there's 4 stars). I found myself picking up the book merely to gain more insight about food - not really extremely excited about reading it.
- however, some parts were just REALLY interesting.
Because you never have heard of companies like Monsanto (about them selling "killer seeds" to unwitting Africans, a David versus Goliath court case, the dangers of one company owning the world's food supply).
You dont REALLY know which companies that you previously thought were "small organic farms" were actually owned by Coke, General Mills, etc.
You never have really thought of benefits from buying local produce (much less that commonshare? timeshare? I dont know, its a thing where you get in season fruits and veggies from local farmers for about $300 a month).
- Jane Goodall is very pro vegetarian. but, to the meat eaters, she does offer information that behooves you as well. Like ... which type of fish will probably have the least amount of chemicals in them. But you will have to hear about factory farming, etc (but its not a huge part of the book).
- surprisingly, she offers good advice about things that you can stray from buying organic as well as the things that you should buy organic.
- you learn about the dangers of improper farming. The lack of proper irrigation, pesticide use (which makes the pests more resilient leading to stronger pesticides needed), and the lack of correct crop rotation to reuse the soil.

And I havent read this book since over two years ago. It wasnt mind blowingly exciting to read, but somehow at the end, I learned some really interesting things.
And she DOES offer a message of hope. I dont want to feel like the world is going to die and we are all doomed after finishing a book. So I was glad that Jane Goodall (or her cowriters, whoever) presented this information in a hopeful manner.

PS. Im assuming there was slight bias. But I got the impression that this book was about as fact based as a biased book could get. If that makes sense.
PPS. I am really intrigued by the program she has set up for schools to teach kids how to eat properly. One of the shocking things she mentioned was showing kids various fruits and vegetables and they had no clue what they were, much less where the grew from (ie, out of the ground on a vine etc)

A Knowledge Guide for Healthy Eating and Drinking .......2007-03-16

This book was wonderful guide regarding the production of our food not only in the US but throughtout the world. As, consumers we need to realize how are food is produced, where it comes from, whats on it, does it have hormones, what are healthy nutrient ingredients, and is our water pure and clean to drink? What may seem healthy may not always be? Jane Goodall, gives excellent illustrations and examples in each chapter regarding what we can do as consumers demanding healthy good healthy food and water in ourlives. I bought several copies of this excellent book to give to family and friends. I would love to hear her oneday give a lecture and presentation on this subject.

NOURISHING IF NOT QUITE SATIATING.......2007-02-21

Written with Goodall's characteristically lucid, unpretentious prose, this book takes on one of the world's most urgent problems. Goodall, famous for her studies of wild chimpanzees, has become a global force for change, and this book is just the latest installment in her tireless efforts.

The most telling message of this book is, for me, that the chemical-dependent, monoculture-oriented, profit-margin-driven paradigm that predominates modern food production simply doesn't work. I challenge any reader not to come away without feeling at least some disdain towards the breathtaking greed and self-serving arrogance of Monsanto and other agribusiness giants. Goodall asks poignantly: "How could we have ever believed that it was a good idea to grow our food with poisons?"

I was disappointed by several omissions, for instance that there is no mention of the non-dairy milks (soy, rice, almond, etc.) and ice creams and faux meats now available. I also can't share Goodall's enthusiasm for buffalo meat (p. 105), or the implication that dairy products are healthful [...]. Readers can't verify many of the facts and statistics offered here because there are no cited sources to consult. Finally, this book needs an index!

In fairness, though, this book is a positive force because it is digestible for masses. Goodall is a master at tackling difficult subjects without sounding preachy or dogmatic. True to its title, this is an optimistic book. And it's empowering. Goodall offers many tidbits of advice on what consumers can do to help drive change away from industrialized, chemical-dependent agriculture and towards local, sustainable and tastier food. I applaud her for broaching what is ultimately the world's most over-arching problem: human overpopulation!

harvest for Hope Review.......2007-01-27

Wonderful book. Have followed Jane Goodall's studies for years,
love her handling of the subject, she writes with such grace and love.
I think this is one of her best yet, everyone should read it.

World Vegetables: Principles, Production and Nutritive Values

Average customer rating:

A must have reference.
The most comprehensive text available on the subject

World Vegetables: Principles, Production and Nutritive Values
Vincent E. Rubatzky , and Mas Yamaguchi
Manufacturer: Springer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Knott's Handbook for Vegetable Growers

ASIN: 0834216876
Release Date: 2007-05-25

Book Description

Completely revised and updated, this wide-ranging, comprehensive treatise examines the many different aspects of vegetables from an international perspective. This logically organized text, filled with numerous illustrations, photographs, and tables, begins with and easy-to-read introduction to such topics as: the current role of vegetables as a world food crop, the origin and classification of vegetables, vegetables in human nutrition, and plant toxicants and folklore concerning vegetables. Background material on the basic principles for growing crops and production under adverse conditions are also featured in this section. Much of the material covered in the book focuses on the major and minor vegetables, their origin, taxonomy, botany, physiology, production and post harvest handling, and composition and use. In addition, current world production statistics are provided for many vegetable crops as well as listings of important diseases, insects, and other pest for many family groups. New features of this edition include: Three new chapters covering mushrooms, aquatic vegetables, and herbs and spices, several appendix tables listing vegetables according to family, genus, species, nutritive value, and recommended storage conditions for many vegetables . The introductory chapter offers an excellent background of the role of vegetables for the beginning and advanced students, both in the U.S. and worldwide. The chapters following provide extension professionals, professors, agricultural agencies, commercial growers, and processing and seed industry personnel with a better understanding of individual vegetable species.

Customer Reviews:

A must have reference........2007-09-02

I had the great priviledge, some years ago, of sitting next to Dr. Rubatzky and Dr. C.M. Rick on a flight from Sacramento to North Carolina to attend an ASHS meeting. I was very fortunate to have both as guest lecturers in my undergraduate classes and to have Dr. Rubatzky sign and dedicate my copy of this book; the culmination of two very distinguished careers. It covers the physiology, production and handling of scores of vegetables. It is the first book I reach for when I want to acquaint myself with a new crop.

The most comprehensive text available on the subject.......1999-09-15

Amazing is the only way to describe the wide range of vegetables covered in this book. It is an excellent reference and well worth the price. I have not seen any other book that covers the botany, physiology and production of so many vegetables so well. Dr. Rubatzky has just recently retired from UC Davis to spend more time with his family. We will all miss his presence on campus; hopefully, he will continue to find the time to write.

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