Since I became a regular here about a year and a half ago, I can think of few diarists that have contributed as much original informative content to this site as the artist formerly known as OrangeClouds115,Jill Richardson.
I had the pleasure of meeting Jill in Pittsburgh during Netroots Nation, where I picked up a signed copy of her book, Recipe for America: Why Our Food System is Broken and What We Can Do to Fix It, which I just finished.
The purpose of this diary is to provide a brief book review, and notice of upcoming Jill Richardson book events in Seattle & Tacoma.
If there is one thing I know for sure, I can't possibly do Recipe for America justice in a short, or even long book review.
Recipe for America examines our "food system", identifies what is wrong with it, and what can be done to improve it, with the goals of enhancing the environment, improving local economies, reducing health care costs, and improving the health and well being of all Americans.
Jill packs an astounding amount of information and analysis in less than 200 pages. She has a gift for distilling complex concepts down to concise, cogent explanations that provide technical information while simultaneously revealing the big picture.
Just as with her blog posts, Jill is passionate, a little sarcastic, and occasionally refreshingly blunt. For example, while discussing the problem of E. coli contamination, Jill writes:
However, the solution favored by industry is irradiation. In other words, nuke the food until the microbes are dead and it no longer matters if there's "shit in the meat"...I would rather see us figure out a real solution to our food safety problems, preferably one that wasn't literally so full of shit.
Now doesn't that epitomize the Orangeclouds115 we know and love?
One of the important things I've learned from this book is that public policy unfairly places sustainable, organic, environment enhancing farms at an unfair disadvantage to large, unsustainable, ecologically menacing corporate farms that produce nutritionally inferior products while raping the environment and putting our health at risk.
Conventional thought is that large industrial farms are more efficient due to economies of scale and the use of chemicals, hormones, antibiotics, etc. The truth is that the societal costs, otherwise known in the realm of economic theory as "negative externalities", outweigh the supposed efficiencies. In other words, if the public health and environmental costs associated with industrial farming were internalized – which they rightfully should according to both classical economic theory and the goal of furthering the health and welfare of all living things – organic, sustainable foods would actually be less expensive to produce and consume than their destructive and nutritionally vitiated industrial alternatives.
The fact is we overproduce and over-consume (beyond what is economically efficient and socially or ecologically desirable) inferior foods that make us fatter, less healthy, and destroy the environment and other industries (like fisheries), because (at least in part) big corporations that operate industrial farms have gamed the system.
You see? I told you I couldn't do it justice. Trust me on this, Jill is much better at explaining than I am.
So just read the book!
Here's the way I see it. We've benefited (at no charge) from Jill's work here for many years. She isn't going to get rich off this book, but the more books she sells, the more influence she will have and the more opportunities there will be for her in the future. We owe it to Jill, and our children, and the planet, to help her keep sustainable, local farming advocacy and related issues her full time pursuit. Who knows, maybe she'll be secretary of agriculture some day.
You can buy the book here. Buy more than one, they make great Christmas presents.
Better yet, if you are in the Seattle area, come see Jill in person and get an autographed copy.
For an event sponsored by Drinking Liberally, the Northwest Progressive Institute, and Sustainable Seattle, Jill will be at the historic Fx McRory's Whiskey Bar in Seattle on Friday, September 4th, from 8:00 - 10:00 PM. Jill will speak, sign books, answer questions, mingle, and be witty and charming.
Fx McRory's has prepared a special food and drink menu for us that includes $3.45 well drinks, $3.95 pints of Seattle's most popular local microbrew, Mac & Jack's African Amber, and organic (mostly) Finamoré Pineapple Express for $3.95.
For food, we'll have several vegetarian choices available including spring rolls with sweet chile vinaigrette for $2.95.
Fx McRory's is actually a steak house, and the full menu will be available. Some people will prefer to arrive early to eat dinner.
For those of you with children, the section reserved is technically dining, not bar, so kids are allowed. Schlepp them along. (My 12 & 14 year old kids love to eat at Fx McRory's, and will probably be there.)
South Sounders can catch Jill in Tacoma Saturday, 9/5 at the Farmers Market (AM), or King's Books (3:00 PM).
On the East-side, Jill wil be in Duvall at the Grange Cafe on the 7th (3:00 PM) for Slow Food Snoqualmie Valley's Labor Day Eat-In.
That's a wrap. Here's a pic to "play us on out".
On a panel at NN in Pittsburgh, Jill has the attention of Congressman Brad Miller (NC-13) who, for those of you who don't know already, is one of the very good ones.