Bringing It to the Table: On Farming and Food »

Only a farmer could delve so deeply into the origins of food, and only a writer of Wendell Berry’s caliber could convey it with such conviction and eloquence. Long before Whole Foods organic produce was available at your local supermarket, Berry was farming with the purity of food in mind. For the last five decades, Berry has embodied mindful eating through his land practices and his writing. In recognition of that influence, Michael Pollan here offers an introduction to this wonderful collection.

Drawn from over thirty years of work, this collection joins bestsellers The Omnivore’s Dilemma, by Pollan, and Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, by Barbara Kingsolver, as essential reading for anyone who cares about what they eat. The essays address such concerns as: How does organic measure up against locally grown? What are the differences between small and large farms, and how does that affect what you put on your dinner table? What can you do to support sustainable agriculture?

A progenitor of the Slow Food movement, Wendell Berry reminds us all to take the time to understand the basics of what we ingest. “Eating is an agriculture act,” he writes. Indeed, we are all players in the food economy.

Introduction ix

Part I Farming

Nature as Measure 3

Stupidity in Concentration 11

Agricultural Solutions for Agricultural Problems 19

A Defense of the Family Farm 31

Let the Farm Judge 49

Energy in Agriculture 57

Conservationist and Agrarian 67

Sanitation and the Small Farm 81

Renewing Husbandry 87

Part II Farmers

Seven Amish Farms 105

A Good Farmer of the Old School 119

Charlie Fisher 129

A Talent for Necessity 139

Elmer Lapp's Place 149

On The Soil and Health 161

Agriculture from the Roots Up 173

Part III Food

Author's Note 185

From That Distant Land 187

From Hannah Coulter 195

From Andy Catlett 201

From "Misery" 211

From The Memory of Old Jack 213

From Jayber Crow 221

From Hannah Coulter 225

The Pleasures of Eating 227