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Recipe for America: Why Our Food System is Broken and What We Can Do to Fix It

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With Recipe for America, Sustainable Food Advocate Jill Richardson Invites You to Join the Cause

July 15th, 2009 By Paula Crossfield

Americans are more obese than ever, our current agriculture system is dependent on oil and other limited resources, our waterways and air are polluted by factory-like farming operations, and still opponents try to push sustainable agriculture to the margins. But change is possible, as Jill Richardson writes in her new book, Recipe for America: Why Our Food System is Broken and What We Can Do to Fix It, which breaks down many of the issues facing the food system and provides approximately 70 pages of solutions.

The book first sets out to explain the way our agriculture system devolved from sustainable to unsustainable. "In the end, the numerous problems in our food system -- pollution, human rights abuses, poor food safety, the breakdown of rural communities, the decline in our health -- are hardly random," she writes. "Instead, they stem from a common thread of industrialization, which occurred primarily over the second half of the twentieth century."

The logical conclusion for Richardson, then, is that sustainable agriculture is the only way forward. In the next chapter, she details the reasons why sustainable agriculture works -- beginning with the inherent consideration it provides to the common good, by maintaining the land, the air, and other species for future generations. She spends time talking about the science of building fertile soil, a necessary part of the practice of sustainable agriculture, as well as the importance of biodiversity, which creates stability in the populations of neighboring plants and organisms. She makes it clear that these considerations are being left out of current conventional agriculture, which purports that we can indefinitely add fertilizer to fields instead of building topsoil (we can't; a crucial element, phosphorus, which can be maintained in topsoil, is now most often being irrevocably washed away every growing season through bad agricultural practices). Building up soil is scientific, involving laboratory samples and methodology, not some turn back to the past, Richardson asserts. This method also saves the farmer money while promoting the environment; and without doing such, we face a future inability to feed ourselves.

So what then is standing in the way of implementation of sustainable practices? Here, it seems, most often the barriers to building a sustainable food system come down to the political will to change. Richardson goes into detail about the barriers on the micro level, in restaurants and school cafeterias, for example. But most interesting are the barriers on the farm, and how excessive regulation on the macro level (like the pending National Animal Identification System (NAIS)), and incentives that promote industrial agricultural practices over sustainable, affect farmers' will and ability to change. But the greatest barrier of all, she writes, may be the lack of recognition on the part of the government that sustainable agriculture practices are superior to industrial agriculture, and for that to change, we need public outcry.

Richardson focuses the final third of her book on the feasible, incremental solutions that will begin to stem the tide of industrial agriculture and favor improved, more sustainable practices. She starts with big ideas, like protecting children, food safety, human and animal rights and the value of labeling, then zeros in on the policy initiatives and problems facing improvements in those areas.

Food safety, for example, is the cause that has been getting a lot of focus in Washington. Here Richardson goes into detail about some of the major issues facing food safety, like antibiotic resistance, microbial contamination, and mercury in fish, and gives specific recommendations for change that can be achieved right now. For mercury in fish, for example, she calls on the government to change its lax warnings to reflect more accurate information about what is safe, then to place labels and warnings where consumers are likely to see them, and finally to significantly curb mercury pollution. She links the problems in keeping our food safe nationally primarily to the "piecemeal" way in which our food safety system has been set up. In addition, the USDA's conflict of interest in simultaneously being charged with promoting and regulating industry (usually more of the former than the latter), and a chronically under-funded FDA (the body charged with making sure our food is safe) leaves Richardson wondering if all those campaign contributions from Big Ag and Big Pharma are keeping regulation in check.

Like a handbook for the sustainable advocate in training, Recipe for America feels like a one-on-one session with a pro in the trenches. It gives the reader the tools they need to be up-to-date on the state of the food movement, the pending legislation and state of the political process as it pertains to food. So pick up a copy, and join the ranks. The good food movement needs YOU!

This book gives us a brief overview of the food system and all it's inter-related problems with broad issues of health, environment, economy and politics. Each chapter is infused with good statistical information and first hand accounts by the author to explore and de-mystify some of the complex issues- labeling, GMOs , etc. The book ends abruptly with a short conclusion and appendix on encourageing web sites that advocate for sustainable food production in various ways. Though the information is well organized I find the political internet activisim for broad based policy isn't enough to handle the conclusion of such a book that offers a 'recipe' for a compendium of problems. What I want to know is more about the role of activisim- how people change and shape policy, what works well and hasn't. Get to the heart of the problem. Publicity. If we are going to write letters to congress we do so because someone has motivated and informed us of the urgent need to do so. Unfortunately, not all of us are exploring food issues on the internet. How do we get the word out most effectively?

Jill Richardson's new book shares her personal journey of discovery and her path to explore solutions. Since our health problems are caused by our diet it makes sense that the solution will be changes in our diet, rather than another blockbuster pharmaceutical with unintended side-effects. High fructose corn syrup has captured an immense market share of our processed food and lurks as a likely cause of overcomsumption of simple carbohydrates, known to be a direct cause of putting on extra pounds. Fructose is the most lipogeneic of all the sugars. I share some of Jill's experiences. I, too, worked in Washington, D.C. also living without a car, and doing my shopping by Metro, bus, bike and walking. I also had a daily routine of eating ice cream, especially in the hot summers, and quickly gained a lot of weight. Jill reveals her personal struggles (and America's issues) and she does it very well. The book is easy to understand and well written. She offers a broad array of action strategies from an interesting perpective. Any community food organizer would benefit from reading Jill's book. -Sherilin Heise, San Diego

Recipe for America: Why Our Food System is Broken and What We Can Do to Fix It

Jill Richardson's new book is a must-read for anyone who puts food into their mouth. She daringly takes on Agribiz and all it entails (genetic modification, CAFOs, ecological damage and ridiculously inefficient petroleum-based fertilizers) and counters their claims with evidence that high-yield, sustainable organic methods are not only possible, but absolutely essential if we are to solve the problems of hunger and malnutrition worldwide. You won't look at your plate the same way after reading Recipe For America -- and your food is going to taste a whole lot better afterward too.

This is an outstanding book. It will do three things: Inform, enrage, empower. Unless you are a super-expert, I'm betting you will learn some things from this book. It will make you angry, but it will also empower you to take action on a variety of levels.

We can have a food system that is healthier, *much* better for the planet, and that produces food that is tastier. It needn't even be that expensive. It just takes some fundamental changes that Jill Richardson outlines in this book.

There are many good books on the disastrous state of our food system. This book has some features the others lack; for one thing, it's short. That's a good thing. You can always read more, and you can get hints of what else to read from this book. But it packs a lot into its 200 pages or so.

It's also well-written and not too technical. This isn't a book of minutiae or scientific detail (although it doesn't ignore science by any means!) it's a book for people who want to learn what's wrong and what they can do to fix it.

Jill Richardson is a young, new author, but her work in Recipe for America comes across as an experienced, well-read and savvy author. Jill does a great job demystifying the political and economic influences and systems built around America's food system. Unlike other authors, she is so bold as propose complete and viable solutions to the problems facing our society's relationships with food and health. It's clear that Jill speaks from the progressive voice of American politics, but food security and safety is something that anyone with children (or anyone that eats for that matter) can get behind.

Jill Richardson's new book, Recipe for America, is a must read for any American who eats.

She skillfully explains the issues with modern industrialized farming in a way that is much more understandable than most written accounts or documentaries that I've read or seen. Her explanation of sustainable farming was excellent and well researched. Her personal examples of how she came to make this topic her life's work were so easily readable and helped pull me in to the book. Her descriptions of the wide array of local foods she has dicsovered in farmers markets and local restaurants made my mouth water. Her book hit home with me in a way no other publication on the topic has so far and moved me to begin seeking local alternatives for produce such as farmers markets and CSAs.

Americans need to better undarstand how our food affects our daily lives and how large scale industrialized farming has altered this crucial and basic part of human existence in this country and others. Ms. Richardson's book makes this complex topic as understandable as possible and provides many actions that individuals can readily perform to make their food choices better. Two thumbs up for Recipe for America!

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Once upon a time in America we were all promised a future where there would be "better living through chemistry". Well here we are. It's the future. And the better living future we're experiencing is chock full of unexpected consequences.

Jill Richardson's new book, Recipe For America, is filled with stories about those consequences. As a contributor with Daily Kos and La Vida Locavore, she's made her mark covering issues that relate to the food chain. She gets the connections between obesity and the current health care crisis. She makes the connections between policy and reality. And she's offered up a paperback that backs up the horror stories with plans, goals and resources so that those of us who care about these issues can begin the process of taking our food chain out of the hands of those who put profits before people.

I sat down with Jill last week in San Diego to talk about the release of her book and her plans for the future. She explained to me that the purpose in writing the book was to help people make the connection between the sorts of personal actions they're making (like planting gardens & buying organic) and the broader policy issues that have led to a crisis that has implications for the entire planet.

All this better living we've been sold means that, along with the facade that we're "eatin' good in the neighborhood", the obesity rate for Americans more than doubled over the last three decades--and it tripled for children aged 6 - 11. Four of the top ten leading causes of death are directly related to diet. Our per-person expenditures for health care have also doubled over the last three decades. Pesticides, hormones, antibiotics and chemical residues are all implicated in complex health issues that appear to be connected to the seemingly limitless choices available in the supermarket aisles and chain restaurants of our nation.

One thing is for sure: all this better living is killing us.

Oh, and, by the way, it's our fault.

At least that's what the overlords of agribusiness and their food processing compadres would like us to believe. They have benefited by the lessons learned by big companies in their fifty year fight to save the tobacco industry in the face of an obvious public health threat. So now we're now hearing lots of food industry rhetoric about "consumer choice", CongressCritters are stalling for "further studies", and spokespersons are hard at work denouncing, delaying and denying the ever increasing amount of data pointing towards the possibility their products and processes are poisoning us. They've learned well.

Jill Richardson certainly didn't plan on a life of activism. As a healthcare software analyst, she was headed towards a life of working with medical professionals, demonstrating and teaching solutions that could make a difference in that field. As part of her work, she gained insight into the everyday problems faced by healthcare professionals. She kept hearing doctors telling the same stories over and over again about their patients; the fact was they spent most of their time dealing with chronic illnesses that were lifestyle related like high blood pressure, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes.

Her subsequent research on dietary factors related to those chronic illnesses led to publication of a piece at Daily Kos entitled "Vegetables of Mass Destruction: Food, Poverty and Environmental Edition". The response to the diary was remarkable--hundreds of readers left comments--and, although she didn't know it yet, Jill was headed down a new path. Over the next couple of years she expanded her work to include a weekly column and started her own blog. What started out primarily as book research and internet searches grew to include field research and an ever-increasing network of contacts willing to help her dig for facts. Questions about our national diet led to an understanding that the industrialization of food had consequences that went way beyond the supermarket.

At the 2007 Netroots Conference, she landed the book deal. It's just been published, and she's soon headed off on a book tour, starting in San Diego on August 2nd. The first event, scheduled at Sea Rocket Bistro, is already booked solid and a second night has been added. (Contact them here for more info). Other dates on the tour can be found here.

[...] influence has already been included mentions on television and mainstream media outlets, including the New York Times. While quite modest about her accomplishments thus far, Jill's passion for the cause and dedication to energizing the movement are undeniable. She's already begun contemplating the global implications of US food policy in light of the historic agribusiness domination in our domestic corridors of power.

The corporate media push back on Recipe For America has already begun. Barnes & Noble booksellers are refusing to sell the book--I even tried placing a "special order" with them. There have already been a number of "trade" reviews that are shockingly similar in language and content, as if they'd been written from a script.

Recipe for America is not an exposé--although there are plenty of stories illustrating the consequences wrought upon people as the result of the current state of affairs in the food industry. It's more like a tool kit, designed to give us a hand in countering the spinmeisters and lobbyists who play the game of preserving the status quo in agribusiness, food processing and food distribution. The book is a useful resource for activists as well as those who are merely concerned about basic issues of food wholesomeness.

This book plainly shows us how sustainable agriculture--where local farms raise food that is healthy for and does not harm the environment--offers the only solution to America's food crisis. Jill also plugs the reader into the rising grassroots food movement, with lots of contact information, blogs to read and suggestions for action. If you care about the food you eat and the future of the planet it's not enough to simply shop at the OB People's Food Coop and the local Farmers Market. Buy this book, use it, and thank your lucky stars that there are people like Jill Richardson out there in this world willing to lead the fight for food safety, a greener planet and good nutrition.

In an easy and enjoyable style Jill succinctly explains the problems that exist in our food system today and offers steps to address each problem. In the end it is up to us to fix the problems, by voting with our food dollars and putting pressure on our elected representatives to eliminate corporate influence. Jill provides the guide you can use to do this.

Very informative. This book is a great overview of the problems with our food system and the solutions to those problems.