[close] World-renowned scientist and conservationist Jane Goodall earned her fame by studying chimpanzee feeding habits. But in Harvest for Hope, she scrutinizes human eating behaviors, and the colossal food industries that force-feed some cultures' self-destructive habits for mass consumption. It's an unsustainable lifestyle that Goodall argues must change immediately, beginning--not ironically--at a grassroots level.

Looping personal anecdotes from 40 years of global travels with stories from noble farmer Davids and corporate Goliaths, Goodall methodically builds her case for shopping organic and living modestly. Mustering a tender gumption, she details the vicious cycle of pesticide-ridden and genetically engineered crops which feed the unknowing majority of consumers; and also feed the antibiotic-treated animals that provide these folks with inexpensive entrees. Leaving nasty slaughterhouse scenes to less tactful pens, Goodall focuses more on the product of "factory farming" techniques: mountains of waste, nutritionally depleted soil, polluted water, displaced organic farmers, and severely compromised food.

Hope springs from positive sources: Edible Schoolyard programs in the U.K. and U.S., parents breaking their schools' "unholy alliance" with fast food chains and soft drink companies, a steady rise in organic purchases. Goodall offers many suggestions for rallying others, exercising one's own consumer powers, and just plain eating less meat. Conservationists might say this information is nothing new, which might explain why Goodall provides only tertiary references to her many statistics and facts. But for those who prefer that their own eating habits be stirred--not shaken--into question, the kindly Chimpanzee Lady provides the gentle touch required. --Liane Thomas [close]