Growing Roots: The New Generation of Sustainable Farmers, Cooks, and Food Activists, Katherine Leiner (Sunrise Lane Productions, 2010)
Growing Roots: The New Generation of Sustainable Farmers, Cooks, and Food Activists is about a new revolution in food that involves young people who are living sustainable lives that revolve around healthy, natural food. The book introduces us to farmers and beekeepers, fishermen and chefs, food activists and cheesemongers, and many, many more.
We meet these fascinating young people from all across the nation through first-person profiles, along with brilliant photographs and delicious, simple recipes. They talk about raising grass-fed beef, lamb, and pork; growing vegetables and grains; keeping bees and making cheese; and their restaurants and their markets. Included are filmmakers, writers, and artists who change the way we look at what we eat and where our food comes from.
In their profiles we learn how these young people got to where they are today, their backgrounds, their education, and their passionate relationship to food.The author’s through-line gives us a glimpse of her own journey with food, through her own childhood, raising children, and becoming an empty-nester. Growing Roots is about relationships and how food figures in those relationships.
It is for everyone who is interested in learning about this new iteration of the food movement and the folks involved, whether you’d like to figure out how to do it for yourself, or just love reading about it. The photos are beautiful, the narrative lively, and the recipes simple and delicious. A must-read for all ages and a wonderful addition to the food-lover’s bookshelf.
Click on the book cover to get a copy of this book.