Food Tyrants [electronic resource] : Fight for Your Right to Healthy Food in a Toxic World

Written in an astute, engaging style, armed with examples from her own homesteading lifestyle, small farmer, homesteader, and self-sufficiency guru Nicole Faires's Food Tyrants gives you the tools to fight the intangible battles, as well as the practical ones. Understand basic soil care principles and organic strategies to grow your own food, as well as urban farming policy and municipal bylaw changes. Armed with knowledge of the history of food security, you will have a clear picture on the issues and why growing food is a responsibility of the many, and not the few. When author and homesteader Nicole Faires decided to retrofit an old school bus and tour America's small farms with her husband and two small children, she expected to learn a lot, be inspired, and have some fun. But what she found disturbed her. Mismanaged small farms; clueless urbanites setting up shop to "get back to the land"; a mindless devotion to organic farming; and, ultimately, the discovery of just... From the dust jacket. When author and homesteader Nicole Faires decided to retrofit an old school bus and tour America's small farms with her husband and two small children, she expected to learn a lot, be inspired, and have some fun. But what she found disturbed her. Mismanaged small farms; clueless urbanites setting up shop to "get back to the land"; a mindless devotion to organic farming; and, ultimately, the discovery of just how dependent we are on corporations for our food. She began to understand how dangerous and fragile our food system really is. Climate change. Farmers retiring or going out of business. Corporations controlling our food distribution system while being protected from the consequences when they endanger our health. Skyrocketing food prices. Outsourced food production. Genetically modified food. With this admittedly bleak assessment of the current state of affairs, Nicole and her family decided to abandon the bus trip and instead start a farm. "I couldn't tell people the solutions to our food crisis while I was traipsing around America taking photos. I had to live it," Nicole says. And so the seeds for Food Tyrants were sown. Food Tyrants tell us why our basic right to healthy food is at risk. And what we can do about it. Written in an astute, engaging style, armed with examples from her own home-steading lifestyle, small farmer, homesteader, and self-sufficiency guru Nicole Faires' Food Tyrants gives you the tools to fight the intangible battles as well as the practical ones. Understand basic soil care principles and organic strategies to grow your own food as well as urban farming policy and municipal bylaw changes. Armed with knowledge of the history of food security, you will have a clear picture on the issues and why growing food is a responsibility of the many, and the not the few Cover Page; Praise for Nicole Faires's The Ultimate Guide to Homesteading; Dedication; Title Page; Copyright; Table of Contents; Introduction; 1. The Foundation of Food; The Abridgement of Freedom; The Loss of Farmland; Soil 101; The Right to Land; Peaches; Composting; 2. Controlling Genetics; A Thousand Years in a Seed; The Real Problems With Genetic Modification; Chemicals and Cancer; A Family Project; Genetic Use Restriction Technology; The USDA Works for Corporations?; Monsanto Public Relations; Saving Seed; A Little Science; 3. A Vast Desert; Food Deserts; Grocery Stores and Middlemen. Assembly Line Food ProductionThe Farmer's Slippery Ethical Slope; Small Farms Are an Endangered Species; The Useful Bus; Taking a Stand; 4. Organic Isn't Always Organic; The Definition of Organic; Where Organic Food Comes From; USDA Organic Standards; Dignity: You Are What You Eat; Solving the World's Food Supply Problem; Eating Seasonally; The Road Trip that Didn't Happen; Organic Can't Do It; Organic Growing; 5. Undercover Agents; The Food Safety Modernization Act; The Raw Milk Rebellion; Battle for Urban Farms; Organic Is Too Expensive; A Few Model Food Policies; 6. The Right to Eat. Defining Food SovereigntyNo Time for Apathy; The Right to Food; City Farms as the Roadmap to Change; Starting an Urban Farm, Co-op or CSA; The Fruits of Our Labor; Conclusion; Suggested Resources; Bibliography; Index. When author and homesteader Nicole Faires decided to retrofit an old school bus and tour Americas small farms with her husband and two small children, she expected to learn a lot, be inspired, and have some fun. But what she found disturbed her. Mismanaged small farms; clueless urbanites setting up shop to get back to the land; a mindless devotion to organic farming; and, ultimately, the discovery of just how dependent we are on corporations for our food. She began to understand how dangerous and fragile our food system really is. Climate change. Farmers retiring or going out of business. Corporations controlling our food distribution system while being protected from the consequences when they endanger our health. Skyrocketing food prices. Outsourced food production. With this admittedly bleak assessment of the current state of affairs, Nicole and her family decided to abandon the bus trip and instead start a farm. I couldnt tell people the solutions to our food crisis while I was traipsing around America taking photos. I had to live it, Nicole says. And so the seeds for Food Confidential were sown. Our basic right to healthy food is at risk. What can we do? Written in an astute, engaging style, armed with examples from her own homesteading lifestyle, small farmer Nicole Fairess Food Confidential gives you the tools to fight the intangible battles, as well as the practical ones.