Resource List.

Great books, films, articles, online resources and advice on food and farming.

Our list is a work in progress. Do you have a favourite you want to add (especially anything local)?
Send it to feedback@ceresfairfood.org.au

Books

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life.
Barbara Kingsolver (2007)
A massive bestseller where novelist Kingsolver and her family become locavores for a year, eating only home-grown food and what they can buy from local farms. Beautifully written, a great gift for someone wanting to get a handle on food issues.

Everything I Want To Do Is Illegal: War Stories From the Local Food Front.
Joel Salatin (2007)
USA’s favourite renegade, farmer, philosopher explains with humour and passion why Americans do not have the freedom to choose the food they purchase and eat. Check out Joel’s other books: “You Can Farm” and”Family Friendly Farming”.

Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats.
Sally Fallon (1999)
If ever there was a cookbook to get robust conversation flowing around the dinner table this is it; Dr Sally Fallon from the Weston Price Foundation champions raw milk, animal fats and cholesterol as vital factors in the human diet. So much more than a cookbook.

The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals.
Michael Pollan (2006)
The book that woke so many people up to food, Michael Pollan asks the question ‘what is for dinner’ and looks at four chains of food consumption to answer it.

In Defence of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto.
Michael Pollan (2008)
“Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants” Michael Pollan’s follow up to the Omnivore’s Dilemma that looks at the American obsession with food and health and observes that food is much more than the sum of its parts.

The Small-Mart Revolution.
Michael Shuman (2006)
Michael Schuman’s beautifully researched work on how supporting local economies build stronger and more diverse communities than the globalised alternatives. A must read for local entrepreneurs and business bureaucrats.

Inquiries into the Nature of Slow Money: Investing as if Food, Farms, and Fertility Mattered.
Woody Tasch (2008)
A vision and strategy to redesign financial markets so they include the social and environmental costs and benefits of spending and investing.

Stuffed & Starved: Markets, Power and The Hidden Battle for the World’s Food System.
Raj Patel (2007)
An insight into the global politics of food and who is controlling what we eat and where it comes from.

The Food Wars.
Waldon Bello (2009)
A discussion of the global food crisis and the principle of food sovereignty.

The End of Food.
Paul Roberts (2008)
The history of food production from hunting to agriculture, and a warning that our current method of industrial agriculture is unsustainable.

Hope’s Edge: The Next Diet for a Small Planet.
Frances Moore Lappe and Anna Lappe (2003)
Thirty years after the first ‘Diet for a Small Planet’ was released Frances Lappe has co-written Hope’s Edge with her daughter. A personal account of their journey through different countries and ways that we can all make a difference to global food inequities.

The New Organic Grower: A Master’s Manual of Tools and Techniques for the Home and Market Gardener.
Eliot Coleman (1995)
The vegetable whisperer Coleman’s original and best comprehensive and practical reference for small-scale market farmers and home gardeners.

The Ethics of What We Eat: Why Our Food Choices Matter.
Peter Singer and Jim Mason (2007)
Ethicist Peter Singer and Jim Mason consider the ethics behind food production. They look at the real costs to animal and human welfare of ‘cheap food’.

The Art of Simple Food: Notes, Lessons, and Recipes From a Delicious Revolution.
Alice Waters (2007)
Famous American restaurateur and food activist Alice Waters has produced a beautiful and simple cookbook and guide to shopping and cooking seasonally and locally.

Eat Here: Homegrown Pleasures in a Global Supermarket.
Brian Halweil (2004)
An investigation into the sad story of the decline of local agriculture and the rise of impersonal megastores. Optimist Brian Halweil also looks at the rise of local food and shares ideas about how you can promote local food and regional self-suffiency.

Much Depends on Dinner: The Extraordinary History and Mythology, Allure and Obsessions, Perils and Taboos of an Ordinary Meal.
Margaret Visser (2010)
An entertaining and informative analysis of a common American meal. Margaret Visser looks at the history of the ingredients and how agribusiness has changed the American food industry.

Farm City: The Education of an Urban Farmer.
Novella Carpenter 2010
Novella Carpenter moves to a run-down neighbourhood in California and decides to borrow the vacant block next to her apartment building to grow food. She recounts the ups and downs of her urban farm and the people that she meets along the way.

Stolen Harvest: The Hijacking of the Global Food Supply.
Vandana Shiva 2000
Vandana Shiva is a prolific and passionate author and food activist. Her book Stolen Harvest charts the impact of globalised agribusiness on the environment, farmers, and the quality of the food that is produced. Check out her other work too.

Closing the Food Gap: Resetting the Table in the Land of Plenty.
Mark Winne (2009)
Winne has a long history of working with America’s urban poor, who… and he talks of the successful alliance between sustainable agriculture and food security groups.

Deep Economy: The Wealth of Communities and the Durable Future.
Bill McKibben 2008
The amazing Bill McKibben turns his sharp mind to the problems with constant economic growth and advocates for localised economies.

Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition and Health.
Marion Nestle (2007)
Don’t believe what they tell you! Marion Nestle looks at the way lobby groups for food industries in America influence policy and nutritional advice.

On good land: The Autobiography of an Urban Farm.
Michael Abelman (2005)
Michael Abelman is an author, photographer, teacher, community activist and farmer. On Good Land is a moving story of his struggle to protect his farm, Fairview Gardens from urban sprawl. Beautiful photos too.

Fields of Plenty: A Farmer’s Journey in Search of Real Food and the People Who Grow It.
Michael Abelman (2005)
Michael Abelman journeys across the United States meeting farmers and their farms. He learns and shares his farming techniques, recipes and stories with the people he meets, and with us.

The One-Straw Revolution: An Introduction to Natural Farming.
Masanobu Fukuoka (1978)
Described as the ‘bible’ of natural farming, Fukuoka’s book is equal parts philosophy and a practical how-to guide to Fukuoka’s own style of no-till, no chemical natural farming.

It Tastes Better.
Kylie Kwong (2010)
A simple and seasonal recipe book and labour of love from Australia’s Kylie Kwong. She travels the country meeting the farmers and producers who are behind the sustainable produce that ‘tastes better’.

Ten Thousand Acres: A Love Story.
Patrice Newell (2006)
The story of Patrice Newell’s twenty years on the land at her biodynamic farm in the Hunter Valley. It is about the complex relationship we have with the harsh Australian land that sustains us, and a plea for a more comprehensive understanding of the ancient land of Australia.

Out of the Scientist’s Garden: a story of water and food.
Richard Stirzaker (2010)
An accessible, easy to read explanation of the complex relationship between food and water, starting in the backyard garden and finishing with agriculture and the ways in which the world feeds itself.

Food security, nutrition and sustainability.
CSIRO publication (eds) Geoffrey Lawrence, Kristen Lyons,Tabatha Wallington
A more academic book, looking at the issues of food security, nutrition and sustainability from a social science perspective, featuring writing from international authors.

Food Inc. The Book: How Industrial Food is Making Us Sicker, Fatter and Poorer, and What You Can Do About It.
Various authors
A companion book to the now famous film, with 13 essays giving a more in-depth discussion of the issues of the film. The Food Inc. book also has suggestions of what you can do to make a difference.

Kitchen Literacy: How we Lost Knowledge of Where Food Comes From and Why We Need to Get It Back.
Ann Vileisis (2010)
Ann Vileisis looks at how and why the distance between farm and plate has grown so vast, and the impact it might be having on us. Starting in an 18th century garden and looking at the present agri-business industry and the concurrent rise of farmer’s markets, this book is guaranteed to make you think about what you eat.

The Atlas of Food: Who Eats What, When and Where.
Eric Millstone, Tim Lang (2008)
A really good introduction to the global food industry, with lots of easy to read maps and comprehensive information covering every link in the food chain.

Food Wars: The Global Battle for Mouths, Minds and Markets.
Tim Lang, Michael Heasman (2004)
Two of the world’s leading food policy experts look at the conflict between the ideals of public health and free trade that has come about since the emergence of a single global market. Not everyone’s idea of bedtime reading, but for those who want a more technical discussion of the issues, this is it.

Local Food: How to Make it Happen in Your Community.
Pinkerton and Hopkins 2009
A very practical how-to guide from the Transition Towns people. Covering everything to do with community and food; from CSAs to local currencies to support community agriculture and community gardens.

Ethics and the politics of food.
(ed) Mattias Kaiser and Marianne Elisabeth Lien (2006)
Recognising that food has become a major political and ethical issue, this collection of writing looks at the complex and various issues around food and food production in our global age. Covering everything from nutrition to government transparency, there are contributions from a range of academic disciplines including philosophy, sociology, political science and history.

Public Produce: The New Urban Agriculture.
Darrin Nordahl (2009)
Nordahl tells us to add a bit of agrarianism to our urbanism. We love it! Nordahl calls for local government involvement in food policy and the myriad benefits of urban food production.

The Conscious Cook: Sustainable Cooking and Living.
Giselle Wilkinson (2008)
A cookbook and guide to all things sustainable and food related by Melbourne based social and environmental activist Giselle Wilkinson

The End of Nature.
Bill McKibben (1989)
Amazon call this book ‘A classic, soulful lament on nature’. We agree. Bill McKibben argues passionately for radical change in the way we co-exist with nature. Essential reading for everyone. Reissued on the tenth anniversary of its original publication with an introduction discussing the progress and changes.

World according to Monsanto.
Spinifex press

Martha Goes Green.
Rosie Percival and Ruth Friedlander (2009)
A beautiful yet simple vegetarian cookbook, self published right here in Melbourne by two of our Fair Food customers.

The Taste for Civilization: Food, Politics and Civil Society.
Janet A. Flammang (2009)

Terra Madre: Forging a New Global Network of Sustainable Food communities.
Carlo Petrini 2010

Backyard poultry.
Alanna Moore

Backyard self suffiency.
Soil food.
Earth garden.
Easy aquaponics.
Edible water gardens.
Organic control of garden pests.
Jackie French

Organic inc: Natural foods and how they grew.
Samuel Fromartz (2007)