Farm to table : the essential guide to sustainable food systems for students, professionals, and consumers

Benjamin, Darryl 1954- (Author). Virkler, Lyndon, 1952- (author.).

Summary: "In Farm to Table, Darryl Benjamin and Chef Lyndon Virkler explore both the roots of our current, corporate food system malaise, and the response by small farmers, food co-ops, chefs and restaurateurs, institutions, and many more, to replace the status quo with something more healthy, fair, just, and delicious. Today's consumers are demanding increased accountability from food growers and purveyors. Farm to Table illuminates the best practices and strategies for schools, restaurants, healthcare facilities, and other businesses and institutions, to partner with local farmers and food producers, from purchasing to marketing. Readers will also learn about the various alternative techniques that farms are employing - from permaculture to rotation-intensive grazing - to produce better tasting and more nutritious food, restore environmental health, and meet consumer demand. A one-of-a-kind resource, Farm to Table shows how to integrate truly sustainable principles into every juncture of our evolving food system."--Back cover.

Record details

ISBN: 9781603586726
ISBN: 1603586725
ISBN: 9781603586733
ISBN: 1603586733
Physical Description: print
xvi, 253 pages : color illustrations ; 27 cm
Publisher: White River Junction, Vermont : Chelsea Green Publishing, [2016]

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Formatted Contents Note:

pt. I. Farm -- 1. The environmental costs of industrial agriculture -- The Green Revolution -- The Farm Bill -- Industrial agriculture operations today -- Monocultures : crops and CAFOs -- Climate change -- 2. The human costs of industrial agriculture -- Effects of air pollution on workers and communities -- Water security -- Food security -- Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) -- Economic impact on farmers -- The plight of food and farm workers -- Who benefits? -- 3. Beyond monoculture : crops -- Threats to biocultural heritage -- Responding to monoculture's threat to food security -- Farming alternatives to monoculture -- Putting it all together -- 4. Beyond CAFOs: livestock, dairy, and poultry production -- Alternatives to CAFOs -- Technology that works -- Right-sized slaughterhouses and food production facilities -- 5. The future of farming -- Food movements -- Growing new farmers -- Locavore movement -- Farm size and specialization -- Bringing farmers and chefs together -- pt. II. Table -- 6. Farm-to-restaurant -- What is a farm-to-table restaurant? -- Challenges facing farm-to-table restaurants -- 7. Purchasing within a farm-to-table system -- Defining sustainable and local purchasing -- Barriers to sustainable and local purchasing -- Options for purchasing farm-to-table -- Purchasing guide by category of product -- Transitioning to farm-to-table purchasing -- 8. Green restaurant practices -- Green restaurant certification -- Water efficiency -- Waste reduction and recycling -- Sustainable durable goods and building materials -- Sustainable food -- Energy efficiency -- Chemical and pollution reduction -- Greenwashing -- 9. Farm-to-school : primary and secondary school foodservice programs -- Challenges facing school foodservice programs -- Farm-to-school : what it is and what it does -- The three Cs of farm-to-school -- Growth of farm-to-school -- Challenges facing farm-to-school -- Marketing farm-to-school -- 10. Farm-to-institution : business and industry, college, and healthcare food service -- Connecting institutions to sustainable purchasing -- Issues, challenges, and successes of sectors in farm-to-institution -- 11. Marketing farm-to-table to the public and to your staff -- Niche marketing -- The seven Ps of farm-to-table marketing.