Product Description

A savvy and practical guide to organic eating for urban dwellers.

In the past few years, organic food has moved out of the patchouli-scented aisles of hippie food co-ops and into three-quarters of conventional grocery stores. Concurrent with this growth has been increased consumer awareness of the social and health-related issues around organic eating, independent farming, and food production.

Combining a straight-to-the-point exposé about organic foods (organic doesn't mean fresh, natural, or independently produced) and the how-to's of creating an affordable, easy-touse organic kitchen, Grub brings organics home to urban dwellers. It gives the reader compelling arguments for buying organic food, revealing the pesticide industry's influence on government regulation and the extent of its pollution in our waterways and bodies.

With an inviting recipe section, Grub also offers the millions of people who buy organics fresh ideas and easy ways to cook with them. Grub's recipes, twenty-four meals oriented around the seasons, appeal to eighteen- to forty-year-olds who are looking for fun and simple meals. In addition, the book features resource lists (including music playlists to cook by), unusual and illuminating graphics, and every variety of do-it yourself tip sheets, charts, and checklists.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #41568 in Books
• Published on: 2006-04-06
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 352 pages

From Publishers Weekly
This smart, engaging work deftly blends polemic, lifestyle guidance and cooking expertise. The daughter of writer Francis Moore Lappé (Diet for a Small Planet) and medical ethicist Marc Lappé, coauthor Lappé wears her pedigree well, arguing passionately and articulately for the organic lifestyle (Terry is a chef and food justice activist). Early chapters explore how the advent of commercial agriculture and mass-manufactured food has led American eaters down a path to obesity and disease while undermining the local economies of farming communities and, in many cases, encouraging the exploitation of both labor and natural resources. The answer: to adopt a "grub" lifestyle that is both healthy and ethical. The "Seven Steps to a Grub Kitchen" chapter suggests readers commit more time to cooking and eating, and use local resources like co-ops and farmers markets, while describing how to best prep a kitchen with tools and pantry supplies. The recipes portion offers seasonal, international, health-conscious menus aimed at young, hip readers, with themes like "Afrodiasporic Cookout" (Grilled Corn and Heirloom Tomato Salad, Shrimp and Veggie Kabobs, Fresh Green Beans, Good Grilled Okra, Ginger Beer) and "Straight-Edge Punk Brunch Buffet (DIY)" (Spicy Tempeh Sausage Patties, French Toast with Blueberry Coulis). (Apr.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author
Anna Lappé is a nationally recognized author, public speaker, and cofounder of the Small Planet Fund. She is the coauthor of the national bestseller Hope's Edge: The Next Diet for a Small Planet.

Bryant Terry is a chef, food justice activist, and founding director of b-healthy! (Build Healthy Eating and Lifestyles to Help Youth), a New York-based nonprofit organization.

Customer Reviews

Only one complaint
First of all, I would like to say that I simply adore the recipes in this book. I do consider most of them to be "special occasion" food, since I can't always afford some of the ingredients, but it's good to have fancy food every now and then.

My only complaint with this book is that the authors seem to show contempt for anyone who follows a specific lifestyle or diet. As a dedicated vegan myself, I choose not to eat animal products as part of my effort to not support the meat industry or the suffering of other living things. So, when the authors gave examples of "vegans" sneaking cheese, or "vegetarians" sneaking seafood, that seems unfair. Obviously these "vegans" and "vegetarians" are not in fact what they say they are. That doesn't mean that every veg-head out there is a hypocrite who's to weak to "do without".

If the book didn't have that snide little comment, I'd give it 5 stars. But buy it for the recipes anyways!! Yum!

Learn what's really going on!
If you're like me and just getting a clue that something's amiss in our food chain and only now realizing big business has dollars instead of nutrition in mind when creating new foods, then this book helps you explain why and how that happened. Plus, you can give family and friends ideas about what to do about it - and that's only in the first half of this concise and clear read. With the second half, you can create a great meal. Organized around the way many of us cook these days - for others and for a party - the recipes are a step up from your average fare but not so complex that they can't be delicious on the first try. I highly recommend its smarts and strong flavors!

Very well written
This book is extremely well written, it was able to hold the attention of someone not in the field of nutrition/food systems (such as my husband who develops software) and captured me from the opening paragraph. I work in food systems and am very familiar with the issues Anna writes about. I appreciate all the research that went into writing this book, the detailed fact checking and the beautiful recipes developed to accompany it. I was educated, enlightened and exposed to new music artists all at the same time while reading this book--what more could I ask for?