March 2005    

Civic Agriculture: Reconnecting Farm, Food, and Community Author: Thomas A. Lyson Publisher: Tufts University Press $16.95 Paper (136 p.) ISBN: 1584654147 B&T         YBP Reviewed by David White, Customer Service Bibliographer Thomas Lyson spends much of this short book (105 pages of actual text) comparing "conventional" agriculture to his newly defined 'civic' agriculture. Conventional agriculture is how an ever increasing majority of the world gets their food. The cycle consists of larger and larger corporate farms producing a smaller variety of food, processed by fewer and fewer major food processors, and offered to the multitudes of hungry people throughout the world. A visit to the local grocery store (more than likely a large chain store) will show what appears to be a dizzying variety of food stuffs. But look more closely - especially in the fruit and vegetable sections. You'll find fewer and fewer varieties of apples, corn, lettuce and bananas. Varieties now for sale in most grocery stores have been genetically tweaked to produce the most yield possible of good looking fruits and vegetables.The downsides to this are a lack of variety and reduced nutritional value. It also seems that fewer and fewer people remember the Irish Potato famine of a century ago that resulted from an over reliance on single varieties of crops. Lyson also describes how the new Corporate processors further de-nutritionalize food as they make up frozen dinners, white bread, snack foods, etc., then are forced to add the nutrients back in - often via chemicals and preservatives. The book's analysis is sobering. For instance, "The large agribusiness firms are run by seemingly faceless boards of directors. A recent study of the food-processing industry showed that only 138 men and women sit on the boards of directors of the ten firms that account for over half of all the food sold in America." Civic agriculture is a return to 19th and early 20th century agricultural values. It strives to return a connection between food producers, food processors and the local population. It encourages sustainable agriculture over heavy fertilization and local connections over the increased internationalization of the food system.It seeks to involve the community in their own food choices, keeping local farms in business, encouraging regional food diversity and specialization, and retaining more nutritious, less processed food stuffs. An eye-opening read, recommended for collections on agriculture, community development, economics of food production and sociology. Published by YBP Library Services 999 Maple St., Contoocook, NH 03229 USA v: 800.258.3774   f: 603.746.5628 w: www.ybp.com   e: academia@ybp.com All rights reserved.