New book explores food systems in Vermont and beyond

Food, Farms, and Community: Exploring Food Systems

Lisa Chase and Vern Grubinger

How food systems reflect our values and contribute to our economy, environment, and culture

Throughout the United States, people are increasingly concerned about where their food comes from, how it is produced, and how its production affects individuals and their communities. The answers to these questions reveal a complex web of interactions. While large, distant farms and multinational companies dominate at national and global levels, innovative programs including farmers’ markets, farm-to- school initiatives, and agritourism are forging stronger connections between people and food at local and regional levels. At all levels of the food system, energy use, climate change, food safety, and the maintenance of farmland for the future are critical considerations.

The need to understand food systems—what they are, who’s involved, and how they work (or don’t)—has never been greater. Food, Farms, and Community: Exploring Food Systems takes an in-depth look at critical issues, successful programs, and challenges for improving food systems spanning a few miles to a few thousand miles. Case studies that delve into the values that drive farmers, food advocates, and food entrepreneurs are interwoven with analysis supported by the latest research. Examples of entrepreneurial farms and organizations working together to build sustainable food systems are relevant to the entire country—and reveal results that are about much more than fresh food.

“Chase and Grubinger explore the complexities of the food system from the viewpoint of different key players while also offering solutions, and thereby make a remarkable contribution to this growing field.”

— Selena Ahmed, Montana State University

“This is an important contribution to the literature on food systems because it pulls together a range of relevant material while also providing some of the specific dynamics and statistics that reveal the relationships between parts of the system.”

— Tatiana Schreiber, Keene State University

LISA CHASE is the natural resources specialist at University of Vermont Extension and the director of the Vermont Tourism Research Center. VERN GRUBINGER is an agriculture specialist with University of Vermont Extension and coordinator of the USDA’s Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program.

304 pp., 17 illus., 69 figs, 6 x 91Ž4"

Paperback, $29.95 • 978-1-61168-421-6Ebook, $27.99 • 978-1-61168-687-6

To order:

800-421-1561 • www.upne.com