Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
Change Comes to Dinner: How Vertical Farmers, Urban Growers, and Other Innovators Are Revolutionizing How America Eats
by
Katherine Gustafson (Goodreads Author)
A fascinating exploration of America’s food innovators, that gives us hopeful alternatives to the industrial food system described in works like Michael Pollan’s bestselling Omnivore’s Dilemma
Change Comes to Dinner takes readers into the farms, markets, organizations, businesses and institutions across America that are pushing for a more sustainable food system in America...more
Change Comes to Dinner takes readers into the farms, markets, organizations, businesses and institutions across America that are pushing for a more sustainable food system in America...more
Paperback, 288 pages
Published
May 8th 2012
by St. Martin's Griffin
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
This book is not yet featured on Listopia.
Add this book to your favorite list »
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
389)
For full review, please see http://urbanfarmjunkie.blogspot.com/2...
I'm into "hoperaking" lately, having greatly enjoyed Katherine Gustafson's Change Comes to Dinner: How Vertical Farmers, Urban Growers, and Other Innovators are Revolutionizing How America Eats. Gustafson coins the word to describe her mission of traveling around the country finding hopeful stories of where food is going right. She ranges far and wide, exploring small-farmer co-ops in Montana, inner-city rooftop greenhouses, sun...more
I'm into "hoperaking" lately, having greatly enjoyed Katherine Gustafson's Change Comes to Dinner: How Vertical Farmers, Urban Growers, and Other Innovators are Revolutionizing How America Eats. Gustafson coins the word to describe her mission of traveling around the country finding hopeful stories of where food is going right. She ranges far and wide, exploring small-farmer co-ops in Montana, inner-city rooftop greenhouses, sun...more
Beans. It starts with beans. I was raised in the south with dried beans on the menu several times a week so I love them, but for many people the simple use of the word invokes visions of boredom and blandness (at best) and off-color jokes (at worst). Heirloom. That’s some dust-catcher your grandmother gave you, right? Beans + Heirloom = Heirloom beans called Good Mother Stallard from a company called Rancho Gordo New World Specialty Food, delivered by mail order. That is the improbable start of...more
This is an in-depth, well-reported, and wide-reaching "hoperaking" romp through America's sustainable food scene. This covers an almost overwhelming array of campus sustainable food efforts, prison gardens, immigrant farming empowerment programs, aquaculture, farms in sunless storage containers, mobile slaughterhouses, and more. Gustafson douses her hopeful news with healthy skepticism (farms in a box without soil or sunlight ARE kinda freaky), which helps me trust her.
Bravo Katherine. I suppose that those who read my reviews of books will probably think that I only give good reviews...so what?
I won this from the Goodreads firstreads giveaway and I had received another couple in the same month. This was the last for me to get into because I just was not sure how I would like it. Now I wish that I had started sooner. But, in the end it is finished and not too late to put its principles into action in my own life.
Katherine Gustafson has written a very (it seems...more
I won this from the Goodreads firstreads giveaway and I had received another couple in the same month. This was the last for me to get into because I just was not sure how I would like it. Now I wish that I had started sooner. But, in the end it is finished and not too late to put its principles into action in my own life.
Katherine Gustafson has written a very (it seems...more
I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
5 stars
This is a really interesting book, mainly because the author doesn't try to simplify matters of farming, production, and consumption. Instead, she points out the complexities and explores how people are addressing the problems they perceive. It was refreshing to read something that doesn't try to explain or defend -THE ANSWER- (e.g. vegetarianism, local eating, eating organic, etc). There is not one simple answer to the economica...more
5 stars
This is a really interesting book, mainly because the author doesn't try to simplify matters of farming, production, and consumption. Instead, she points out the complexities and explores how people are addressing the problems they perceive. It was refreshing to read something that doesn't try to explain or defend -THE ANSWER- (e.g. vegetarianism, local eating, eating organic, etc). There is not one simple answer to the economica...more
I won this through GoodReads FirstReads.
This is a very helpful information and reference tool for anyone interested in sustainable living and food. Gustafson gives a lot of varying examples of how to bring the local food focus to your area, and ways to grow your own food as well. While there are some ideas that are not practical for everyone, this is a great starting point for those just embarking on the arena of locally grown food. It also offers much for those who are already familiar with th...more
This is a very helpful information and reference tool for anyone interested in sustainable living and food. Gustafson gives a lot of varying examples of how to bring the local food focus to your area, and ways to grow your own food as well. While there are some ideas that are not practical for everyone, this is a great starting point for those just embarking on the arena of locally grown food. It also offers much for those who are already familiar with th...more
This book contains over two dozen examples of small (and some not so small) local projects to change the way we grow food and eat. Some are surprising, like vertical farming. All are intended to give hope for the change which is so necessary. Each example is inspiring (and relatively short). It made me thing it would be a good subject for the NY Times Fixes column. It was interesting and not too preachy. Just peachy.
The series of projects and people Gustafson chose to profile are inspiring, but the book itself reads like a series of blog posts strung together with a transitionary paragraph or two. There isn't a discernable thesis beyond, "look! there are people out there doing cool stuff!" I want to see more books on this topic, which is why I'm giving it 3 stars, but there are other books with similar subjects that are more cohesive and pay more mind towards where they fit in the larger food movement.
An interesting collection of profiles and ideas focusing on the human aspects of our food system, but a bit too unfocused and meandering to be an easy read. Probably better suited to readers relatively new to discovering the myriad issues of American food politics, many topics and proposed solutions are touched upon but none are explored in much detail or depth.
Gustafson paints a visual picture of her travels to find the heart of what is happening to US agriculture. An inspirational look at where our food comes from and how we as consumers should assess our buying and eating habits. I wished there was more and truly hope there will be, until then I am getting involved at my local farm stand and bringing agriculture to the Preschool children I teach.
I received this book from a Goodreads giveaway (thanks, Goodreads!).
This is a great book to read if you're already convinced of the necessity for change in America's food system. Gustafson isn't trying to galvanize anyone into action or rile up the masses, but instead she travels the United States "hope-raking." The entire book is a sort of survey of best-practices in the alternative food industry (including unique local foods programs, urban farming, and sustainable agriculture).
Don't read if:...more
This is a great book to read if you're already convinced of the necessity for change in America's food system. Gustafson isn't trying to galvanize anyone into action or rile up the masses, but instead she travels the United States "hope-raking." The entire book is a sort of survey of best-practices in the alternative food industry (including unique local foods programs, urban farming, and sustainable agriculture).
Don't read if:...more
Very good investigation of how food practices are changing to improve health, local economy and the environment. Hopeful and uplifting. Can't wait to get my raised beds installed!
Uplifting views on developing a sustainable and sane food system. Loved it.
**I received my copy from Goodreads First Reads.**
The United States has a lot of people to feed, that's for sure. But Industrialized Farms have decimated our food system, and also made "natural food" a luxury for the communities who can afford it.
But hope is not lost, according to Katherine Gustafson. I like this book because it not only describes the iniquities faced in hungry communities, but it also describes sustainable solutions that can be copied in other places. It surprised me how affor...more
The United States has a lot of people to feed, that's for sure. But Industrialized Farms have decimated our food system, and also made "natural food" a luxury for the communities who can afford it.
But hope is not lost, according to Katherine Gustafson. I like this book because it not only describes the iniquities faced in hungry communities, but it also describes sustainable solutions that can be copied in other places. It surprised me how affor...more
Although I was ready for it to end before I got halfway through, this book made me want to start farming. A little redundant with all the examples given, but well written and encouraging. There is hope for our food system.
Great opening line - "It all started with beans." Loved it! And I loved that the author's mother's culinary preparation mirrored my own mother's so closely! AND I loved that the author has a weakness for Cheetos! Me too! The book is super informative and we follow the author on her hoperaking journey across 15 states and D.C. to find alternatives to the problems in today's food system. A good read that is good for you!
A delight! A fast read with a fun, conversational tone. The author is clear from the beginning that she's seeking stories of hope, but that doesn't mean she's not realistic about how these small-scale innovators fit into the bigger picture, at least for now. Highly recommended!
Not quite what I thought this book would be about.
It is an okay read, with some interesting tidbits, but not enough for me to finish it when I have so many other books begging for my attention.
It is an okay read, with some interesting tidbits, but not enough for me to finish it when I have so many other books begging for my attention.
Thought provoking and interesting. Focused more on finding solutions than pointing out problems, which I like.
May 16, 2013
Jill
marked it as to-read
May 10, 2013
Liz S
added it
May 03, 2013
Yj
is currently reading it
Apr 26, 2013
Kayla
marked it as to-read
Apr 16, 2013
Kellyn
marked it as to-read
Mar 31, 2013
Shane Dougall
marked it as to-read
Mar 30, 2013
Lauren Devos
marked it as to-read
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
Katherine Gustafson is an award-winning writer, journalist, and editor whose articles, essays, and stories have been published in numerous print and online media, including The Christian Science Monitor, Johns Hopkins Magazine, Slate, and The Best Women’s Travel Writing. She lives with her husband and daughter in the Washington, DC, area.
Her first book, about sustainable food, was published by St....more
More about Katherine Gustafson...
Her first book, about sustainable food, was published by St....more
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
