Customer Reviews

Organic Manifesto: How Organic Farming Can Heal Our Planet, Feed the World, and Keep Us Safe

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The Organic Manifesto will convert anyone who is on the fence about the benefits of organic food and farming. Maria Rodale's well researched and easy-to-read manifesto is an articulate outpouring of convincing information that makes you want to stand firm and demand organic. She writes about the origins of conventional farming, why it's so toxic for the planet and our bodies, and why chemicals aren't necessary to produce an abundance of healthy food. She explains how organic farming mitigates global warming, produces the tastiest and most nutritious foods, and why a shift to organic is essential to creating a sustainable future. Maria's passion pours off every page and is contagious. This is a wonderful and important book that everyone should read!

I hadn't thought much about the organic vs conventional/chemical debate. Organic seemed like a nice option if you can afford it but not really something to get too fussed about. When a friend gave me this book it totally turned that perspective on its head. I had no idea what actually went into the farming we take for granted but the research Maria Rodale has collected in this book was shocking. I'm writing this three days later and I still haven't been able to stop thinking about it. This isn't about more nutrients or feeling better about supporting your local farmer, this is about the health of my family and our country. This book will be the one that changes how you see the world, it did for me.

I grew up in the 60's and 70's with my Mom's strong opinion on organics and everything natural. I continued that approach to eating up to about 2006 where I spent about 3 years eating what others eat.

I gained weight - 25% body weight increased! Diabetes, fatigue, growths on my thyroids and behavior alterations. I found that a large part of the issue was associated with MSG. However, that did not fix everything.

This book provided an easy read to the problems of eating mass produced foods and the chemicals that can be found in and on them. It details how these chemicals enter our bodies and what they do to them.

This was the other piece of the puzzle I was missing and I am so glad to have a book that I can easily read while gaining meaningful facts in quantities.

I highly recommend this book for anyone not feeling quit right and wants to investigate more about the source of the potential problems.

As she says, the solution is easy, go organic! After reading this book, you will probably never eat anything that is not organic again!

R

Every American should read this book, to see what your leaders are hiding from you. As we could win the battle against cigarettes we can win against toxins in our food! Do this for yourself and your family, read this book, try to make better food choices and let your voice heard!
This book is a qucik read, that doesn't get lost in deep scientific details, but gives references if you have a science background and would like to further read up on current reserach.

Maria Rodale's "Organic Manifesto" is a must read. There are so many good books available about the relationship between our food and our environment, and this one is a stand out for it's conciseness, it's plain language, it's complete grasp of the big picture, and it's hopefulness. We all need to be inspired as well as informed on how our current choices of consuming and producing food must change for the well being of our bodies and our planet. Maria does both; inspire and inform. You'll love this book, and you'll want everyone you know to read it,too.

This book is perfect for the person that wants to do something to help the world but not sure where to start. This book is great for the unitiated as to why choosing organic isn't just a personal choice we make at the local market but a lifestyle we should all adopt to help the world. It is my sincere hope that as many people as possible read and understand just how important this book is. Very well written this book tells it like it is in no uncertain terms that the choices we make are either the world a better place or making it worse. Once you read this book you will never look at organic the same way again or food in general for that matter.

This is a must read. It is really enlightening even to someone that didn't need to be convinced of why organic is good. I wish Organic didn't need to be called organic. All other food should have to be labeled, Chemical. The why of the whole chemical thing is sad and somewhat daunting. But it's one person at a time, we can do this.

I have never really given much thought as to the HISTORY of our dependence on chemical farming and that is the one aspect of this book that I found most fascinating. The author starts out with an in depth look at the state of things today and moves into how we got here. She discusses the health of the soil and the health of our children...looking at soil contamination and the health risks that all of us face as a result. She interviews 'traditional' chemical farmers and gets their opinions on WHY they grow things the way they do. Their responses are included in this book and many of the comments they provide are straight from the literature handed to them by big chemical companies. I found that chapter particularly sad since many of those farmers expressed an interest in organic farming but just didn't know how to move away from the techniques that they were so familiar with.

The chapters on the development of chemical farming were fascinating! Did you know it all started by importing bat guano from far away islands using slave labor to harvest it? Things just spiraled out of control after that! There are also chapters on the politics of subsidies, lobbyists, and the government's involvement in farming and genetically modified crops (GMOs).

The author discusses modern organic farming...from compost to cover crops... and has some great information to dispel common myths associated with the organic movement. She ends with a chapter on a new future, some of which is feasible but others I am not so sure. I don't think chemical companies are ever going to get their hands (and wallets) out of Washington. It is up to US, as a people, to stop buying chemically farmed foods. Supply and demand will, I hope, pressure farmers to change their way of growing food. I don't expect anyone in Washington to care, as sad as that is!

I highly recommend this book if you would like to learn more about the history of farming in our country!

From the first word to the last this book is a stark realization of why we are reaching the tipping point in the climate crisis, health care crisis, global economy crisis. We can live without oil but we cannot live without food or water and we are destroying on an everyday basis our ability to sustain ourselves. The book in a very clear and articulate way explains why this is happening and how we can turn it all around by doing one simple thing...buying Organic. Yes really....by supporting the Organic movement we can show BIG Agro-Business that "they" cannot mess with the public's health anymore. Greed has taken over this country in the form of BIG BUSINESS with very little regard to human life. It's all about the Green...in this case I am not talking about the "dollar". I loved this book and Maria did her homework...she did her research and speaks the truth and she is Correct. It is now up to us to take her words and go beyond the pages of her book and do something or we will not have a planet left for our future generations.

A Year in a Rock Garden: An Organic Gardening Guide (Volume 1)
This book is a "must read" for any gardener and I believe for any non-gardener also.It concerns not only our food but indeed, our future as a race on this planet.We all need to understand what this book is about. It is clear, well written and an excellent summary of the term "organic" and what it means to all of us. Ron Kushner