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Whether I’m traveling or at home, I usually have a book open. Somehow, my stack of books I want to read still seems never-ending—but that’s exactly how I like it!
Every season, Food Tank loves highlighting personal stories, cultural analyses, social histories, and more books that not only illuminate the food system as we know it today but also help us imagine what we can build tomorrow.
In All Consuming: Why We Eat The Way We Eat Now, baker and cookbook author Ruby Tandoh unpacks the social forces that shape our relationship with food in ways we might not realize. Looking at Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard’s quest to reinvest his fortune into climate resiliency in the book Dirtbag Billionaire, New York Times reporter David Gelles asks how we can reconcile the contradictions of creating a mission-driven business in a capitalist society. Author Nancy Matsumoto argues in Reaping What She Sows: How Women are Rebuilding a Broken Food System that community self-reliance is crucial—and women trailblazers have been and will continue to be indispensable to saving and rebuilding regional food systems.
In cookbooks and other guides—like Recipes From The American South by Michael Twitty, Turtle Island: Foods and Traditions of the Indigenous Peoples of North America by Sean Sherman, and What to Eat Now: The Indispensable Guide to Good Food, How to Find It, and Why It Matters by Marion Nestle—we’re reminded how changing the world can begin on our plates.
And we learn how to chart a path forward by digging into success stories. From Sam Kass’ The Last Supper, we learn from the chef and former Obama Administration food policy advisor about how we can invest in maximizing nutrition while protecting the climate. In The Accidental Seed Heroes, Adam Alexander celebrates the power of traditional seeds, and in Sea Change, authors Amanda Leland and James Workman share stories of the unlikely partnerships that are revolutionizing the fishing industry for the better.
I hope you’ll dive deeper into our most recent book list of 26 titles that, I think, can help us all plant and water the seeds of change in our own communities! CLICK HERE for the full list, including information on how you can find these books for yourself or as gifts.
Every one of us is intertwined in the food system, no matter our age—so we need to include young folks in our food system storytelling, too!
We’re also highlighting 20 additional books to spark curiosity in young readers about the food on their plates and the plants growing around them. What I love about these books is that they center the joyfulness of discovering where food comes from and how delicious it can be.
I also deeply respect the way that books on this list like A Plate of Hope: The Inspiring Story of Chef José Andrés and World Central Kitchen by Erin Frankel, Lucas and Emily’s Food Bank Adventure by Dave Grunenwald, Saturdays at Harlem Grown: How One Big Idea Transformed a Neighborhood by Tony Hillery and other books don’t avoid complex topics but rather find creative, appropriate ways to help young readers understand how food changes lives.
Young folks can be citizen eaters, too, so let’s give them the tools to advocate for sustainability and help shape the world they’ll inherit. Check out our list of 20 books to help kids in your life connect with food systems by CLICKING HERE.
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Photo courtesy of Muaawiyah Dadabhay, Unsplash
