"If Evolution Is Outlawed, Only Outlaws Will Evolve"
-Jello Biafra
might i strongly recommend:
_The_Revolution_Will_Not_Be_Microwaved_, by Sandor Ellix Katz.
i was a fan of his as soon as i opened the cover of his first book, _wild_fermentation_.
i got to hear him speak at a small meeting in Nevada City. he was as personable and inclusive in person as his voice is in his writing. i had brought him some homemade ginger ale, and ginger-carrot-hiziki pickle in homage, but i got all red-faced and sheepish.. leaving the place i immediately felt GOOFY. but that's ok. he didn't know any different, and i was even more inspired!
this man's life is the inspirational light that shines through his writing. his book is at once handbook for eating and manifesto for living. by choosing to take an active roll in feeding yourself, you take a stand against the Powers That Be who would have you mindlessly agree to whatever they're shoving your way ~ whether it be multi-national corporate consumerism, genetically-modified mono-cropped anti-nutrition, or global political smokescreen and blatant lies.
here's the review i wrote on Amazon:
in a time when spinach could be deadly, and cloned animals might be ground into that next Big Sandwich,
there is an underground revolution happening, and it's happening all over the world. folks are making possibly-unnoticed-but-radical choices about food. they choose not to let corporations and government dictate what and how they must eat, because when food choices are taken out of the hands of the people, the people lose.
in this textbook for the revolution, Sandor Ellix Katz examines the intricately interwoven web that is our food supply. from water and land rights to bake sales, "free trade," and free food, he shows the damage done when big government (big brother) and big business make our food choices for us. the book uncovers a whole lot of the story that they would prefer we not know, and shows how tied together it all is ~ history, ecology, economy, ethics, civil rights, big vs. small, corporate vs. community, seed laws and plant prohibitions, down to even the most basic right of putting in your mouth something you feel like eating, and maybe sharing it with a friend. the picture seems mighty bleak. but that's where the revolution comes in; people everywhere continue to join around the table ~ the very basis of culture itself ~ not to let the powers-that-be separate them from their food supply. for survival, for nutrition, for connection, for charity, for protest ~ for pleasure (!), folks are keeping food traditions alive, or exploring them for the first time. they're holding onto age-old agricultural practices (like seed saving), and creating new solutions to food waste (like dumpster diving and road-kill salvage!). but Katz doesn't stop there; each section (as well as including extensive resources for further study and connection) extends a personable and encouraging, do-it-yourself helping hand to guide the reader to take steps to becoming a revolutionary herself. because choosing to be aware about food at all has become an act of rebellion.
The Revolution Will Not Be Microwaved is concentrated, intelligent research as well as compelling, passionate storytelling. it is manifesto, cultural catalyst and cookbook, promising a place for each of us at the revolutionary table.
a fan of Katz as soon as i opened Wild Fermentation, i highly recommend this book. if you are interested in food politics at all, or even just love to eat good food, this is a must-read textbook and reference tool for our time.
photo: Sandor Katz with some cheesy red-faced chick as he toured CA to promote his new book.
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