LITERANISTA Dialogue on Multicultural Books, Tech & Life

Literanista April 5, 2012

This year’s theme for World Water Day, celebrated annually on March 22nd, was water and food security. Over 90 percent of the water consumed globally by humans is used for agriculture. Scientists note that by 2030 almost half of the world’s population will be living under severe water stress.

via Donna Palmer

“According to the Commission on Sustainable Agriculture and Climate Change, there are nearly one billion undernourished on our planet, and millions who suffer from chronic disease due to excess food consumption.The demand for food continues to grow as populations continue to grow, and food prices grow with them.” Source: Clean Technica (http://s.tt/18ryn)

Latinos have an increased risk for heart disease, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, hypertension, obesity and other diet-related illnesses. The complex politics of food, animal welfare, the global economy, our culture and health are critical to understand and lead us forward in the decisions we take.  As such, I’ve put together this list of books to get you thinking about the food you eat and the future of food.

5 Food Books Every Latina Should Read


Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition, and Health, Revised and Expanded Edition (California Studies in Food and Culture) by Marion Nestle
An accessible and balanced account, Food Politics laid the groundwork for today’s food revolution and changed the way we respond to food industry marketing practices. Now, a new introduction and concluding chapter bring us up to date on the key events in that movement. This pathbreaking, prize-winning book helps us understand more clearly than ever before what we eat and why.
Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer
Eating Animals explores the many fictions we use to justify our eating habits-from folklore to pop culture to family traditions and national myth-and how such tales can lull us into a brutal forgetting.

The American Way of Eating: Undercover at Walmart, Applebee’s, Farm Fields and the Dinner Table by Tracie McMillan
McMillan embarked on a groundbreaking undercover journey to see what it takes to eat well in America. The surprising answers that McMillan found on her journey have profound implications for our food and agriculture, and also for how we see ourselves as a nation resulted in this book.

An Economist Gets Lunch: New Rules for Everyday Foodies by Tyler Cowen 

Tyler Cowen discusses everything from slow food to fast food, from agriculture to gourmet culture, from modernist cuisine to how to pick the best street vendor. He shows why airplane food is bad but airport food is good; why restaurants full of happy, attractive people serve mediocre meals; and why American food has improved as Americans drink more wine. And most important of all, he shows how to get good, cheap eats just about anywhere.

Sugar: A Bittersweet History by Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky
The only rock we eat, salt has shaped civilization from the very beginning, and its story is a glittering, often surprising part of the history of humankind. A substance so valuable it served as currency, salt has influenced the establishment of trade routes and cities, provoked and financed wars, secured empires, and inspired revolutions. 
Feel free to add your thoughts or more books in the comments below.