End of Food: How the Food Industry is Destroying Our Food Supply--And What We Can Do About It »

This book is based on hard scientific research, most of which has been conducted outside of the United States, where food production lobbies have fought hard against this kind of research. Pawlick exposes an alarming trend in the food available in our grocery stores. This is not an argument about unhealthy, processed foods, rather it exposes the problems with all foods, including fruits and vegetables that people commonly assume are healthy.

Library Journal

Read in tandem, these two expos s, which urge readers to take a stand against the food and pharmaceutical industries, offer a look into the changing nutritional content of and toxic buildups within our food. In The End of Food, organic farmer and investigative science journalist Pawlick compiles research conducted outside of North America that focuses on the modified and reduced nutritional value of food. The North American diet of greenhouse fruits and vegetables is, he writes, nutritionally poisonous. Pawlick does not see the end of the healthy North American as inevitable-a final chapter contains an annotated bibliography on gardening and small farms, sustainable agriculture, and expos s in the agricultural industry as well as a list of organizations and citizens' groups. Whereas Pawlick focuses on the nutritional content missing from our food, investigative journalist Fitzgerald addresses the toxic chemicals building up in our food, water, and environment. In 1906, Congress enacted the Pure Foods and Drugs Act. From that day forward, U.S. citizens have trusted that all foods and medicine would be closely monitored for safety. At the centennial of this act (ergo, Fitzgerald's "hundred-year lie"), readers continue to be bombarded with a cavalcade of chemicals introduced into the environment as by-products of scientific/industrial improvements on nature. Fitzgerald dismantles many misconceptions ("Myths We Cherish") and offers readers practical solutions for making their lives healthier, including an entire chapter on self-detoxification. Capped with a comprehensive bibliography, Fitzgerald's book is a thought-provoking text. Public libraries with strong collections in consumer health, nutrition, and environmental concerns would benefit from having both of these well-crafted books.-Rachel M. Minkin, Graduate Theological Union Lib., Berkeley, CA Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.