Food Security
From Excess to Enough
Will be published approx. on 19. December 2019
Book
Paperback/Softback
224 pages
978-1-4597-4402-8 (ISBN)
Description
Canadians are failing to balance reasonable food consumption with sufficient and sustainable production.
The modern agricultural system is producing more and more food. Too much food. The cost is enormous: excess nutrients are contaminating the air and water; soil is being depleted; species loss is plunging us toward the sixth extinction; and farmers, racking up debt, are increasingly vulnerable to economic and climatic shifts.
At the same time, people are consuming too much food. Two-thirds of health-care costs in Canada can be attributed to chronic diseases associated with unhealthy eating. And then there is the waste - householders, food processors, distributors, wholesalers, and retailers collectively waste 40 percent of the food produced.
A radical rethink is required. We need to move from excess to enough.
The modern agricultural system is producing more and more food. Too much food. The cost is enormous: excess nutrients are contaminating the air and water; soil is being depleted; species loss is plunging us toward the sixth extinction; and farmers, racking up debt, are increasingly vulnerable to economic and climatic shifts.
At the same time, people are consuming too much food. Two-thirds of health-care costs in Canada can be attributed to chronic diseases associated with unhealthy eating. And then there is the waste - householders, food processors, distributors, wholesalers, and retailers collectively waste 40 percent of the food produced.
A radical rethink is required. We need to move from excess to enough.
Reviews / Votes
This book beautifully combines storytelling with scientific evidence. Martin contributes a unique perspective that seamlessly bridges his lived experience of family farming, and his distinguished academic career. * Jane Rabinowicz, Executive Director USC Canada * So much more than a treatise on food security... It's spiritual ecology in practice and at its finest. * Anita Stewart C.M. LLD; Food Laureate, University of Guelph & Founder of Food Day Canada * Ralph weaves his personal experiences growing up on a farm in Wellington County, with his professional experiences as an agriculturalist, teacher, mentor and researcher. * Laurent Van Arkel, Van Arkel Farms, Dresden, ON * Ralph challenges us to consider the complexities of agriculture, the impact agriculture has on individual farmer...consider their consumer habits and the effects their choices have on our environment and on the plight of poorer nations of the world. * Catherine Van Arkel, Van Arkel Farms, Dresden, ON * This is a deeply personal but also profoundly analytical treatise on how to save ourselves and other species...Ralph Martin is Canada's Wendell Berry. * Rod MacRae, PhD; Associate Professor, Faculty of Environmental Studies, York University *More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Toronto
Canada
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
Bibliography
Dimensions
Height: 203 mm
Width: 127 mm
Thickness: 13 mm
Weight
272 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4597-4402-8 (9781459744028)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
10/2019
Dundurn Press
€9.49
Available for download
Persons
Ralph C. Martin is a professor of plant agriculture at the University of Guelph, where he also served as the Loblaw Chair in Sustainable Food Production from 2011 to 2016. In 2001, he founded the Organic Agriculture Centre of Canada. Ralph lives
in Guelph, Ontario.
in Guelph, Ontario.
Content
Foreword
Introduction: More than Enough
1 Indigenous Food Systems as Millennial Models
2 Apparent Choice and Declining Freedom
3 Pushing Production to Address Population Growth
4 Balancing Production and Consumption
5 Food and Health
6 Wasted Food and Attendant Losses
7 Food for People, Feed for Livestock
8 Optimizing Energy and Nitrogen Use
9 Wonky Weather and Protean Production
10 The Foundation of Building Soil for Farming
11 Recovering Diversity
12 Quintessence
Conclusion: Respect and Gratitude for Enough Food
Acknowledgements
Bibliography
Introduction: More than Enough
1 Indigenous Food Systems as Millennial Models
2 Apparent Choice and Declining Freedom
3 Pushing Production to Address Population Growth
4 Balancing Production and Consumption
5 Food and Health
6 Wasted Food and Attendant Losses
7 Food for People, Feed for Livestock
8 Optimizing Energy and Nitrogen Use
9 Wonky Weather and Protean Production
10 The Foundation of Building Soil for Farming
11 Recovering Diversity
12 Quintessence
Conclusion: Respect and Gratitude for Enough Food
Acknowledgements
Bibliography