What would a just food system look like? This question is at the heart of Mark Bittman’s newest book, “Animal, Vegetable, Junk: A History of Food, from Sustainable to Suicidal.” Before he attempts an answer, Bittman brings readers on an epic journey through the history of food, from ancient Mesopotamia to the current COVID-19 pandemic.
“All That She Carried” by Tiya Miles humanizes captive Black people living in “the tear of humanity that was chattel slavery.” Set primarily in the antebellum south, Miles gives readers a tour of the plantations of white enslavers in South Carolina, detailing how infrastructure and society were shaped by the vast fields of rice and
As a mother I have watched our youngest generation be shaped by the climate crisis. I have witnessed climate anxiety overwhelm my children and their friends, listened to them share concerns that have kept them up at night, and done my best to field questions about the end of the world. At times, the dread
Apple growers and historians in Maine have been given a gift, that of knowing their apple history perhaps better than any other state in this country. Frederick Charles Bradford (1887-1950), the author and compiler of this seminal work as a thesis submitted to the University of Maine in 1911, has brought to life the trials
Step aside beloved beauties of the bug world. The time has arrived for the oft maligned fly’s moment in the spotlight. Leave your butterfly and honeybee love at the door: it’s all flesh flies and fungus gnats in the pages ahead. “13 Ways to Eat a Fly” is a reverse counting book for little ones
The Maine-based, award-winning children’s book author Kimberly Ridley shares her sense of wonder for the natural world with adults in her latest release, “Wild Design: Nature’s Architects.” By pairing brief essays on the forms of nature — including stalactites, coral reefs, pitcher plants and beaver lodges, to name a few — with reprints of antique
Have you noticed fewer bugs on your windshields? With 40% of insect species at risk of extinction, and an impending “insectageddon,” we need to take steps right now to “rebug” our planet, says Vicki Hird. And she has a book full of ideas about how we can do that. Like many of us, Hird uses
Year-round Maine residents might be skeptical upon encountering the title of Cathy Rees’s newly released book, “Winterland: Create a Beautiful Garden for Every Season.” Is this aimed for gardeners in California? Texas? Florida? Rest assured; it is not. Rees is the cofounder of Native Gardens of Blue Hill in Maine and draws from more than
Here in Maine, and much of New England, we are so lucky to have access to herbal companies that grow the plants for their herbal products — right on this land. But, maybe you have found yourself searching for bulk herbs you couldn’t find locally, purchasing them online and wondering where they come from. Or
In nearly 10 years of farming, I’ve read stacks of business books, listened to podcasts and attended nearly every marketing workshop at farming conferences I could get to. I’ve learned from leaders inside and outside the agriculture sector. And I still feel like there’s always more to learn. “Redefining Rich: Achieving True Wealth with Small
