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THE FUTURE OF FOOD
a film by Deborah Koons Garcia
First our food system was industrialized in the fields; now it's happening at the cellular level. This wide-ranging documentary on genetic engineering touches on many controversies--health concerns, "suicidal" seeds, patenting life--but is most convincing (and outraging) when showing how corporations have waged war on the farmers whose fields were accidentally contaminated by genetically modified crops. thefutureoffood.com
HARVEST
a book by Nicola Smith
Before starting their own small organic farm, Jennifer Megyesi and Kyle Jones held the same romantic notions about rural life as many other Americans. Nicola Smith's intimate account follows the couple over the course of a year as they test their ideals against the realities--both dramatic (bad seasons, birth and death) and mundane (putting up fences, doing paperwork)--of making a life and livelihood on the land.
HOOKED
a book by G. Bruce Knecht
In a globalized world, the food on your plate may connect you to some surprising people and places--especially if it's Chilean sea bass. This once-obscure fish became so popular in the '90s that it's now dangerously (and often illegally) overfished. G. Bruce Knecht intertwines the tale of that culinary calamity with a sympathetic look at both the poachers and government patrols who battle over the fish amid howling winds and 45-foot waves.
THE OMNIVORE'S DILEMMA
a book by Michael Pollan
"Organic" and "free range" labels make food sound like it came right off Old MacDonald's Farm. But nowadays organic eats are more likely to be grown by a distant corporate operation than a local family. Michael Pollan traces two meals back to each of those sources--and compares them to one at McDonald's and one he hunts and gathers himself. His findings lend new meaning to the question "What's for dinner?" --Bruce Hamilton
Let's Talk: Discuss this selection with your friends and neighbors.
THE SLOW FOOD GUIDE
a book series
From hot dogs to haute cuisine, any kind of food can be "slow," a term that refers to an international movement that incorporates sustainable ingredients and preserves regional traditions. These lively guides to (so far) Chicago, New York City, and San Francisco identify the local restaurants, bars, and markets whose fresh, distinctive food and drink encourage you to linger. slowfoodusa.org
While I'm sure Green Life readers are already recycling regularly (you are, aren't you?), advanced recyclers can still get in the spirit of things by figuring out how to handle something a little trickier than bottles or cans--say, batteries or computer equipment or cell phones or old fluorescent bulbs--or by brushing up on some handy recycling facts to help you convince the skeptics in your life. (Don't feel bad, we've all got 'em.)
