ASAP’s summer reading list:

Grace Gershuny’s, Organic Revolutionary: A Memoir of the Movement for Real Food, Planetary Healing, and Human Liberation, reviews origins of the U.S. organic standard through the author’s eyes beginning with the 1970s back-to-the-land movement, appreciation of the soul of the soil and the organic farming movement in northern New England.   Grace was one of the lead authors of the U.S. National Organic Standard and an active contributor to the newly approved Sustainable Agriculture Standard (Leo 4000).  This is extremely valuable reading for anyone interested in how social movements, standards and human tenacity can help forge sustainable food systems that live up to our highest aspirational goals.  Books ($16.50) can be ordered online from Lulu.com. http://www.lulu.com/shop/grace-gershuny/organic-revolutionary/paperback/product-22549124.html

Eric Tonesmeier’s newest book is a guide for individuals, communities and organizations interested in taping agriculture’s capacity to mitigate climate change.  The Carbon Farming Solution shares a suite of agricultural practices and crops that sequester carbon in the soil and biomass through the use of perennial crops, new approaches to animal grazing, and agroforestry leveraged through creative financial mechanisms. It provides in-depth analysis of the available research and identifies needs by covering: Perennial staple and industrial crops including those that can provide us with starches, sugar, oils, fiber, energy, and more; Improved grazing and livestock practices; Measurements of a project’s impact on carbon reduction and sequestration; Details on how to scale up existing carbon farming enterprises; Effective financing models for communities and the private sector
An overview of international policy barriers to expanding carbon farming
– Available at: http://www.chelseagreen.com/the-carbon-farming-solution#sthash.sa6qwqQk.dpuf; His writings, videos and more can be viewed at www.perennialsolutions.org

And, on the lighter side- The Land of Milk and Uncle Honey is by Alan Guebert, who writes the nationally syndicated column “The Farm and Food File”, is a master storyteller, who recounts farm life on Indian Farm in Southern Illinois during the 1960s and `70s. This is available from the University of Illinois Press at http://www.press.uillinois.edu/books/catalog/93kft5fg9780252080944.html

Enjoy your summer!