25 Food‑System Reads for World Book Day
World Book Day is the perfect moment to load up on books that reveal how food moves from soil to table. Reminder: shop the independent bookstores that keep money circulating locally, carry small‑press gems, and can usually get any book within a few days. What would you add?
On Our Plates
Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition and Health Volume 3 Marion Nestle
The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals Michael Pollan
Food Fight: The Citizen’s Guide to the Next Food and Farm Bill Daniel Imhoff
The Land Remains:A Midwestern Perspective on Our Past and Future Neil Hamilton
In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto Michael Pollan
How to Be a Conscious Eater: Making Food Choices That Are Good for You, Others, and the Planet Sophie Egan
In the Fields
The Light Eaters: How the Unseen World of Plant Intelligence Offers a New Understanding of Life on Earth Zoë Schlanger
The Third Plate: Field Notes on the Future of Food Dan Barber
Bet the Farm: The Dollars and Sense of Growing Food in America Beth Hoffman
Farm (and Other F Words): The Rise and Fall of the Small Family Farm Sarah K. Mock
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life Barbara Kingsolver
Finding Turtle Farm: My Twenty-Acre Adventure in Community-Supported Agriculture Angela Tedesco
Turn Here Sweet Corn: Organic Farming Works — Atina Diffley
Supply‑Chain Sleuthing
Barons: Money, Power, and the Corruption of America's Food Industry Austin Frerick
Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal Eric Schlosser
The Secret Life of Groceries: The Dark Miracle of the American Supermarket Benjamin Lorr
Building Community Food Webs Ken Meter
Grocery Story: The Promise of Food Co-Ops in the Age of Grocery Giants Jon Steinman
Ecology & Indigenous Knowledge
Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants Robin Wall Kimmerer
Making Shift Happen: Designing for Successful Environmental Behavior Change N. Dunstone & T. Stibe
Pawpaw: In Search of America’s Forgotten Fruit Andrew Moore
Industrial Farm Animal Production, the Environment, and Public Health James Merchant and Robert Martin
Equity & Culture
Farming While Black: Soul Fire Farm’s Practical Guide to Liberation on the Land Leah Penniman
The Color of Food: Stories of Race, Resilience and Farming Natasha Bowens
Feeding Each Other: Shaping Change in the Food Systems Through Relationship Nicole Civita & Michelle Auerbach
