To learn more about the issues discussed in this book consider:
Food and Agriculture (General)
Eric Schlosser’s bestseller, Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal (New York, Perennial, 2002), is still the best-told story of America’s fast food industry and its influence on eating habits.
Ann Cooper, Bitter Harvest: A Chef’s Perspective on the Hidden Dangers in the Foods We Eat and What You Can Do About It (New York, Routledge, 2000). The book is weighted towards food safety and quality, but it contains a good history and other interesting information about our industrialised food and agricultural system.
Marion Nestle, Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition and Health (Berkeley, University of California Press, 2002). The title tells it all: corporate power, lobbyists, advertising and marketing tricks in the American food industry and its regulators.
The following two books were published too late for us to read before this book went to press, but we recommend them on the basis of their authors’ previous works:
Marion Nestle, What to Eat (New York, North Point Press, 2006). The well-known nutritionist takes us through the supermarket, offering advice on what to eat.
Michael Pollan, The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals (New York, Penguin, 2006). We have discussed some of Pollan’s writing in the preceding pages. This is his fullest statement on our food choices.
www.ethicalconsumer.org.
The website of the Ethical Consumer Research Association (ECRA). Although this is a UK organisation, its materials on fair trade, environment, GMO’s, animal welfare and other concerns can be helpful to ethical consumers everywhere.
Animal Agriculture
Jim Mason and Peter Singer, Animal Factories: What Agribusiness Is Doing to the Family Farm, the Environment and Your Health (New York, Harmony Books, rev. ed. 1990). Although now out of print (copies still available in libraries and used book websites) and the figures dated, the book explores all of the ills of factory farming; with photographs of factory farms, inside and out. The factory farms of today are essentially the same, only much larger.
Jim Mason, An Unnatural Order: The Roots of Our Destruction of Nature (New York, Lantern Books, 2005). The book examines ideas about animals, food and gender from pre-historic times—including scavenging, hunting, animal domestication, animal sacrifice and the influence of animal agriculture on the shaping of early Western civilisations.
Karen Davis, Prisoned Chickens, Poisoned Eggs: An Inside Look at the Modern Poultry Industry (Summertown, TN, Book Publishing Company, 1996). Well-researched details on modern chicken and egg factories.
Danielle Nierenberg, Happier Meals: Rethinking the Global Meat Industry, Worldwatch paper 171 (Washington, DC, Worldwatch Institute, 2005). A look at the global growth of meat consumption and factory farming methods; with suggestions for alternatives.
Erik Marcus, Meat Market: Animals, Ethics, and Money (Ithaca, NY, Brio Press, 2005). Marcus carefully reviews current animal agricultural practices and data, and advocates new strategies for reducing the suffering of farmed animals.
Bernard E. Rollin, Farm Animal Welfare: Social, Bioethical, and Research Issues (Iowa State Press, 1995). The author, University Distinguished Professor, Professor of Philosophy, Professor of Biomedical Sciences, Professor of Animal Sciences, and University Bioethicist at Colorado State University, reviews the science relevant to the most controversial animal farming practices.
For an Australian perspective, see the websites of Animals Australia, www.animalsaustralia.org, and of the state Animal Liberation organisations, such as Animal Liberation NSW, www.animal-lib.org.au, Animal Liberation Victoria, www.alv.org.au, Animal Liberation South Australia, www.animalliberation.org.au, Animal Liberation Queensland, www.animalliberationqld.org.au, Animal Liberation ACT, www.al-act.org, and Animal Liberation Western Australia, www.animalliberation.com.au.
Patrick Francis, the beef producer mentioned in Chapter 4, edits Australian Farm Journal, a good source of information on Australian farming practices, aimed primarily at farmers.
Compassion in World Farming, based in Britain but with affiliates in several other countries, has many thoroughly researched publications on farming, food, and fish: www.ciwf.org.uk/publications.
To see factory-farm conditions for yourself, watch the video ‘Meet Your Meat’ narrated by actor and activist Alec Baldwin: www.petatv.com/tvpopup/Prefs.asp?video=mym2002.
To see what Tyson Foods, Inc. has to say, go to www.tyson.com.
For information to do with McDonald’s corporate responsibility go to www.mcdonalds.com/corp/values/socialrespons.html.
Environment
Jim Motavalli edits E: The Environmental Magazine, which regularly runs articles on agriculture, fisheries, fair trade and other geo-political concerns. You may find information on issues of concern to you in E’s back issues and archives: www.emagazine.com.
Green Living: The E Magazine Handbook for Living Lightly on the Earth, by the editors of E: The Environmental Magazine, 28 Knight Street, Norwalk, CT 06851.
Carolyn Johnsen, Raising a Stink: The Struggle over Factory Hog Farms in Nebraska (Lincoln, University of Nebraska Press, 2003). A balanced report on the complex and deeply divisive conflicts among factory farmers, local residents, family farmers, environmentalists, and elected officials.
‘Watching What We Eat’, is a useful article by Brian Halweil and Danielle Nierenberg on agriculture’s impacts. In Worldwatch Institute, State of the World 2004 (New York, W.W. Norton & Company, 2004).
The Australian Conservation Foundation covers many issues related to food and agriculture. See www.acfonline.org.au.
Fair Trade
There are a number of fair trade organisations with varying missions: Fairtrade Labelling Organization International: www.fairtrade.net. Fair Trade Association of Australia and New Zealand: www.fta.org.au. Oxfam Australia is also involved in the fair trade campaign: www.oxfam.org.au/campaigns/mtf/fairtrade.
Global Exchange, an international human rights organisation, promotes social, economic and environmental justice worldwide: www.globalexchange.org.
For a technical review of how agricultural trade can benefit the developing world, see: M. Ataman Aksoy and John Beghin, eds, Global Agricultural Trade and Developing Countries (Washington, DC, World Bank, 2005).
Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, www.iatp.org. Based in the US and Switzerland, IATP works on the effects of globalisation and the challenges facing local communities.
Oxfam International, Rigged Rules and Double Standards: Trade, Globalization and the Fight against Poverty (London, Oxfam, 2002). At www.maketradefair.com/assets/english/report_english.pdf.
Fisheries and Aquaculture
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has an overview of fishing at: www.fishinghurts.com/fishing101.asp.
The Worldwatch Institute has several reports on fish farming. See www.worldwatch.org/pubs/goodstuff/shrimp/ and www.worldwatch.org/pubs/mag/2003/165.
Colin Woodward, Ocean’s End: Travels through Endangered Seas (New York, Basic Books, 2000). Drawing on his travels across six continents and 100,000 miles, the author explains how pollution, harmful fishing practices, ignorance and global warming are destroying the world’s oceans.
Philip Lymbery, ‘In Too Deep: The Welfare of Intensively Farmed Fish’, Compassion in World Farming Trust, available from www.ciwf.org.uk/publications/fish.html.
Pew Oceans Commission, America’s Living Oceans: Charting a Course for Sea Change (Arlington, VA, Pew Oceans Commission, 2003). Available at www.pewoceans.org.
The Marine Stewardship Council has information about its ‘Fish Forever’ certification of sustainable fisheries at www.msc.org.
The US Environmental Defense maintains the Oceans Alive program. See their video that takes you underwater to view sea creatures at www.oceansalive.org.
For the Australian Marine Conservation Society go to www.amcs.org.au.
The Australian Government’s Fisheries Research and Development Corporation has a variety of information about fishing and the environment available on its website: www.frdc.com.au.
Genetically Modified Foods
Lee Silver, Challenging Nature: The Clash of Science and Spirituality at the New Frontiers of Life (New York, Ecco, 2006). Much broader than just GMOs, this book is definitely on the side of science.
Michael Ruse and David Castle, eds, Genetically Modified Foods:DebatingBiotechnology (Amherst, NY, Prometheus, 2002). Those for and against GM foods get to state their case here.
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, The State of Food and Agriculture, 2003–4 (Rome, FAO, 2004). A balanced view of the global risks and benefits of GMO foods.
Union of Concerned Scientists at www.ucsusa.org, see ‘Food and Environment’ for reports on genetically engineered foods.
Center for Food Safety on GMOs: www.centerforfoodsafety.org/geneticall7.cfm.
For information taking a critical stance on GM food in Australia, see www.greenpeace.org.au/truefood.
Local Farming and Sustainable Agriculture
Brian Halweil, Eat Here: Homegrown Pleasures in a Global Supermarket (New York, W. W. Norton, 2004). Explains why it is good to ‘eat local’.
Rich Pirog, et al, Food, Fuel and Freeways, Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture (University of Iowa, Ames, Iowa, 2001). Available at www.leopold.iastate.edu/pubs/staff/ppp/food_mil.pdf.
Anna Lappe and Bryant Terry, Grub: Ideas for an Urban Organic Kitchen (Tarcher/Penguin Group, 2006). Recipes, meals oriented around the seasons, resource lists, graphics, and do-it yourself tip sheets, charts and checklists.
For information on local farming in Australia, see www.communityfoods.org.au.
Organic Farming
Rodale Institute, the grand-daddy of the organic movement, has many publications: www.rodaleinstitute.org and www.newfarm.org.
Julie Guthman, Agrarian Dreams: The Paradox of Organic Farming in California (University of California Press, 2004). A study of the development of organic farming in California, revealing some of the differences and similarities between organic and conventional farming.
Michael Sligh and Caroline Christman, Who Owns Organic? The Global Status, Prospects and Challenges of a Changing Organic Market (Pittsboro, NC, Rural Advancement Foundation International–USA, 2003).
There are several Australian organisations promoting organic farming. The two largest are Australian Certified Organic, a division of the Biological Farmers of Australia, www.bfa.com.au, and National Association for Sustainable Agriculture, www.nasaa.com.au.
Slaughterhouse Workers
Gail A. Eisnitz, Slaughterhouse: The Shocking Story of Greed, Neglect, and Inhumane Treatment Inside the US Meat Industry (Amherst, NY, Prometheus, 1997). A fast-paced, readable account of what it’s like inside the tough slaughterhouse sub-culture and how meat industry pressure has rendered the USDA inspection system ineffective.
Donald D. Stull and Michael J. Broadway, Slaughterhouse Blues: The Meat and Poultry Industry in North America (Belmont, California, Thomson/ Wadsworth, 2004). Fifteen years of research by a cultural anthropologist and a social geographer on the communities surrounding slaughter plants.
Human Rights Watch, Blood, Sweat and Fear: Workers’ Rights in US Meat and Poultry Plants (New York, Human Rights Watch, 2004).
Vegetarians and Vegans
The Australian Animal Liberation organisations listed above, under ‘Animal Agriculture’ provide information on vegetarian and vegan living, and links to other sites.
See People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals’ websites, www.goveg.com for information on vegetarianism, including free videos, photos, and www.VegCooking.com for recipes, cooking tips and cookbook and restaurant recommendations.
Vegan Outreach has well-considered information on going vegan: www.veganoutreach.org. Jack Norris’s essay ‘Staying Healthy on Plant-Based Diets’, available from the Vegan Outreach website or at www.veganhealth.org/sh/, is an excellent practical guide to what people contemplating vegetarian and vegan diets should know about nutrition.
Vegetarian Resource Group has solidly researched materials at www.vrg.org.
Erik Marcus, noted above in ‘Animal Agriculture’, is a respected writer on vegan issues: www.vegan.com.
JoAnn Farb’s book, Compassionate Souls: Raising the Next Generation to Change the World is available from Lantern Books, New York: www.lanternbooks.com.
To Reach Businesses Discussed in This Book
| Chipotle: | www.chipotle.com |
| McDonald’s: | www.mcdonalds.com |
| Macro Wholefoods: | www.macrowholefoods.com.au |
| Niman Ranch: | www.nimanranch.com |
| Tyson Foods: | www.tyson.com |
| White Dog Café: | www.whitedogcafe.com |
| Whole Foods Market: | www.wholefoodsmarket.com |