Writing the Land: Foodways and Social Justice
Writing the Land: Foodways and Social Justice is a sustainable-food-production-and-art-themed anthology that brings together poets and land protection and anti-hunger organizations from across the US. Poems, essays, and Information about the missions of these parters for foodways and social justice are included in this unique book. Purchase your copy from any participating partner to support the work they accomplish.
More details: Each chapter of part I tells the story of a land conservation organization---how and why they are passionate about conserving agricultural lands. Every one of these organizations goes about it slightly differently, on and in the ground, day by day, but they are all people who care deeply about the combined fate of humans and land: past, present, and future. Each holds a piece of the larger puzzle of how we keep agricultural land producing food sustainably, and how we interact with the land and with one another fairly.
In part II, we explore the important role the arts play in communicating, embodying, and enhancing the connections between foodways and social justice. Each essay tells the story of an arts organization or artist and how they contribute to this work.
Throughout, artwork, photographs, micro-essays (“thoughts”) and other information enhances the relatively short chapters. See table of contents and examples using the “Look Inside” button below.
Participating Partners:
AgArts
Agrarian Trust
Community Ecology Institute
Downeast Salmon Federation
F.A.R.M.s
Martin Bridge
The Milk House Rural Writing Collective
Northeast Farmers of Color
Poetry X Hunger
Seeds of Solidarity: The Garlic and Arts Festival
Serpentine Art and Nature Commons
Sustainable Iowa Land Trust
Praise for Writing the Land: Foodways and Social Justice
There are those who think the only way to hold land is to own it. Give this book to them. There are those who know we are woven with earth and one another. Give this book to them. There are those settled and unsettled by the history of land. Give this book to them. For no matter how you think about, or forget about, the ground beneath your feet, you'll find something in here that will unlock the beauty of the world, and the cycles through the soil that sustain us all.
—Raj Patel, award-winning author of Stuffed and Starved: The Hidden Battle for the World Food System; Research Professor, Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, The University of Texas, Austin
Food and agriculture bring people together. Through a layered series of essays, poems, and art, Writing the Land: Foodways and Social Justice expertly weaves an anthology that spotlights the important efforts of land trusts and organizations to conserve farmland and bring awareness to the need for environmental protection, conservation, and stewardship. This collection demonstrates how we can return to our roots—and empowers readers to understand how land trusts are fostering social justice and connecting communities with their history and culture.
—Congressman James P. McGovern, US House of Representatives (D-MA), 1997-present; leader to end hunger and food insecurity and to support human rights worldwide
Almost silently hidden amidst the tempest of industrialization, chemical farming and climate change, land trusts and earth-focused organizations hold the promise of a nurtured seed. This book cuts through the politics and the intellectual squabbles to whisper the voices of those who cherish, conserve, restore and celebrate Earth’s calathus. Essential reading.
—Dean Cycon, Founder, Dean's Beans Organic Coffee Company, Author of Javatrekker: Dispatches from the World of Fair Trade Coffee