Library Journal Review

Trained by European chefs who favored exotic dishes, Cooper (A Woman's Place Is in the Kitchen) spent two decades preparing restaurant meals "without accounting for seasonality or a sense of place." After attending the Chefs Collaborative 2000 Conference five years ago, she was inspired to rethink many of her assumptions and food choices. Not only did she begin to seek out locally grown, organic produce, she became increasingly interested in the pernicious role of agribusiness in controlling and altering our food supply. Here she discusses what she has learned about the use of pesticides and hormones in agriculture, the addition of harmful chemicals to processed foods, and the loss of biodiversity through the bioengineering of seeds and plants. To counter these environmentally damaging trends, Cooper shows how farmers, cooks, and concerned-citizen groups are striving to grow and market food that is sustainable, safe, and healthy. An appendix of resources offers the reader ways to learn more about sustainable agriculture and environmentally sound practices. Recommended for public and academic libraries.DIlse Heidmann, San Marcos, TX (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.