Book reviews
Contents
Bottomfeeder - how to eat sustainably in a world of vanishing seafoodBy Taras Grescoe
Published by Bloomsbury
Website: www.bloomsburyusa.com
2009, 326pp, ISBN 978 1 255 0(Hb), US$24.99
In a world awash with information and alarm, authors have to be original to catch and hold readers' attention. The title of this book is certainly original, and so is the blend of science, ecology, travel and gourmandising, all presented to alternately shock and appeal. Taras Grescoe's central and abiding message is that the oceans are on the brink of catastrophe with some 90 per cent of all predator species (cod, tuna, shark) now harvested, and many other fisheries also on the brink of collapse. If this marine disaster seems removed from terrestrial priorities, Grescoe's travels and investigation confronts the reader with shocking realities.
To walk the vast fish markets of Japan, daily stocked with an amazing array of unrecognised species, to watch lobster fishermen on the east coast of Canada emptying pot after pot, day after day, or to read the menus of seafood restaurants the world over offering fish dishes to please any palate, is to be lulled into a sense of security that intimates continuing supply in quantity and variety. And then there is the fall-back assurance that if all else fails, farmed fish will be the solution. The illusion makes for a false reality: at our current rate of fishing, writes the author, the oceans will very soon be either "filled with jellyfish, bacteria and slime" or will be monocultures where single species such as crab, lobster and shrimp survive precariously as bottomfeeders.
Fish provide the main or only source of protein for billions of the world's poorest people, and for many also their only livelihood. But the collapse of fisheries is no mere food aid matter: Grescoe quotes very recent research that suggests that eating fish was what made Homo sapiens: the omega-3 fatty acids found most richly in fish account for why H. sapiens has such a large cranium and brain size. "Proto-humans evolved close to the water," writes Grescoe. "It is likely our seafood-rich diet provided the diet that made us the world's brainiest primate." So what of a fish-free future?
For those with faith in technology as an answer to all challenges, aquaculture would seem to offer some solace. But reading Grescoe's account of how salmon are farmed, subjected, as they are, to a range of chemicals from egg to slaughter, and ultimately packed in cages more densely than battery chickens, the option neither appeals nor does it offer the quantity of output of fish flesh that we have taken for granted these past decades: 10 million tons of sardines caught off the coast of Namibia alone, is just one example given.
So, what are the options? An immediate halt to most conventional fishing seems to be imperative to give the small surviving stocks some chance of recovery. And then, as the title suggests, we must become bottomfeeders in order to eat sustainably in a world of vanishing seafood: new species must be targeted for food, and chefs challenged to present these often unappealing looking creatures of the deep as dishes worthy of any seafood connoisseur. It is here, describing the sampling of exotic and palate-challenging dishes in some very obscure locations, that the author gives rein to his tongue-in-cheek writing which, though original and humorous, at times also tries the patience of the serious reader gripped by a very serious story.
That aside, Taras Grescoe has done a great service and deserves to be read widely.
Sustainable agriculture and food security in an era of oil scarcity - lessons from CubaBy Julia Wright
Published by Earthscan
Website: www.earthscan.co.uk
2009, 261pp, ISBN 978 1 84407 572 0(Hb), £60.00
When the Soviet Union collapsed, Cuba - the empire's minute and furthest-flung outpost - saw its fuel and food supplies vanish almost overnight, and the government had to act quickly to feed its people. While these constraints no longer exist, the short period when they did provides an interesting snapshot of a nation with no other option than to push for an organic, low input, "post-petroleum" food system.
With some 90 per cent of the world's farmers managing 75 per cent of global agricultural lands organically by default, and with various threats looming over non-organic farmers everywhere else, the Cuban experience may hold some valuable lessons. In fact, Wright contends that the country "pre-empted what many industrial countries will experience" and may even provide "great inspiration and vision for communities all over the world intent on developing localised, sustainable food systems."
This is certainly an interesting case study, although whether it is a useful blueprint for drawing wider conclusions in the 21st century is another matter. What it does show is that Cuba, faced with a lack of agricultural inputs and internationally-shunned, still managed to feed its population - and to feed it well. To this extent, it may also show that not only is necessity the mother of invention, but also that strong political leadership is vital in a time of crisis.
Confessions of an eco sinnerBy Fred Pearce
Published by Eden Project Books
Website: www.edenprojectbooks.co.uk
2009, 390pp, ISBN 978 1 905 81112 0(Pb), £7.99
If you've ever wondered where all your stuff comes from - computers, bananas, wedding ring gold - and where it all goes, Fred Pearce has beaten you to it, been there, cast a critical eye over it and published it here. Armed with a sense of his own ignorance and fallibility, Pearce is yet another writer to have embarked on a worldwide mission to see things for himself, make up his own mind and dutifully keep us all 'in the loop'. Processes are scrutinised, morals are interrogated, figures are checked to see how "green" they really are. To his great credit Pearce has no fear of statistics and is skilled at making them more manageable, less illusory and, yes, sometimes more shocking.
Of particular interest to New Agriculturist readers are his visits to Fairtrade coffee farmers in Tanzania, the prawn farms of Bangladesh and his fact-finding trip to Kano, Nigeria, where he observes that the "apocalyptic vision" of a world succumbing to widespread desertification, "is little more than a mirage." He continues: "Farm yields are often up, not down. Soils are getting better, not worse," helped by innovative crop-livestock systems.
Always ready to accept his own contradictions (the book clocked up an eye-watering 180,000 air miles in the making), he nevertheless makes a strong case that the well-meaning Joe Publics of the world really do need someone to tell it like it is, in language they can understand and with the vital statistics intelligible to all. Essential reading.
The history of developmentBy Gilbert Rist
Published by Zed Books
Website: www.zedbooks.co.uk
2009, 286pp, ISBN 978 1 84813 189 7(Pb), £17.99
If you can tolerate the jargon, you'll see why this is the third edition of what is described as a "classic development text." Rist contends that international development is not the manifestation of some universal moral truth, rather it is a cultural phenomenon, drenched in western ideology and as fallible as it is subjective.
Rist's analysis finds the whole idea of development based on the peculiar-but-oft-unchallenged concept that "progress or growth should be able to continue indefinitely," and should be encouraged everywhere. This in turn is a spin-off from economic theory that underpins the developed world: that the world can and ought to continue to grow without constraint. His inevitable conclusion is that development is little more than ideological colonialism - and it's not even working. The gap between the richest and the poorest in the world has widened in the last half-century, leading Rist to wonder, somewhat apocalyptically, "what if the failure of development was not also the failure of western civilisation?"
It's a shame that Rist writes solely for a captive, academic audience because the points he makes are strong, arguably profound and deserving of wider attention.
State of the world 2009: Confronting climate changeBy Worldwatch Institute
Published by Earthscan
Website: www.earthscan.co.uk
2009, 262pp, ISBN 978 1 84407 694 9(Pb), £14.99 or free to download
Climate change will affect everyone, but the world's poor will bear the brunt. By 2020 up to 240 million Africans could experience water scarcity and in some African countries yields could be cut in half. Looking towards the Copenhagen climate conference in December 2009, State of the world 2009 argues that if real action is not taken soon, a tipping point could be reached, whereby climate change would begin to feed on itself and a cooling of the planet would not be enough to reverse the changes. However, the authors believe that, "the resources, technologies, and human capacity for change are all in place. The missing ingredient is political will, and that is a renewable resource".
Earth: The sequel: The race to reinvent energy and stop global warmingBy Fred Krupp and Miriam Horn
Published by W.W. Norton and Company
Website: www.wwnorton.com
2009, 296pp, ISBN 978 0 393 33419 7(Pb), £9.99
Global warming can be solved and, in the process, new industries, jobs and fortunes can be created, according to Fred Krupp and Miriam Horn. Earth: The sequel is about inventors and their ideas that are attempting to stabilise the climate, generate significant economic growth and save the planet. One chapter examines algae as a source of biodiesel. Although requiring significant amounts of water algae are able to tolerate wastewater, and can use land not suitable for agriculture. Algae have also been used to absorb CO2 from the emissions of power plants, by up to 85 per cent in some cases. Krupp admits that many inventors will not succeed, "But imagine what it will mean if even a fraction of these high-risk ventures fulfil their promise," he says.
The authors believe that the solution to global warming is simple and lies in America, where "the US congress must set a legal and steadily declining limit on global warming pollution." First of all, polluters who emit more than their allowance would have to pay, while those able to reduce pollution could sell their reductions. Secondly, the US Government could offer a significant financial incentive to design new technologies to generate carbon-free energy and/or remove carbon from the atmosphere. "America's greatest strength has always been its boundless capacity for invention," the authors argue. A carbon cap would therefore "unleash" the power of US entrepreneurial capitalism, and make tackling global warming profitable, and therefore worth pursuing.
Agriculture in urban planning: Generating livelihoods and food securityEdited by Mark Redwood
Published by Earthscan
Website: www.earthscan.co.uk
2009, 248pp, ISBN 978 1 84407 668 0(Hb), £65.00
In many countries, urban agriculture is illegal or has been ignored by city authorities, but attitudes are changing and acceptance is growing. With one-in-six people on the planet now living in an urban slum, access to land and water is scarce but, for many of them, food production is still important. Using case studies from Ghana, Senegal, Malawi, Nigeria, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Democratic Republic of Congo, Peru and Argentina, Agriculture in urban planning investigates the contribution of urban agriculture to livelihoods and food security. Specific issues covered include public health and the impact of pollution and water contamination on food production, urban composting, urban planning, and strategies for integrating agriculture into urban areas.
One of the issues the authors pay close attention to is wastewater. Researchers discovered that in the absence of safe water, and because of its high nutrient content, wastewater is highly valued by farmers. However, many farmers are unaware of the potential environmental and health risks. In the Peruvian capital Lima, for example, mining and the dumping of waste into rivers is contaminating produce grown in the basin. Therefore in exploring the use of wastewater, the authors suggest that because economic benefits are of primary importance, while policies must promote hygiene, they must also increase profitability. Methods of nutrient recycling and reusing liquid and solid wastes are also examined.
Designed to encourage farmers, politicians, environmentalists and regulatory bodies to recognise the potential of urban agriculture, Agriculture in urban planning demonstrates that, despite the potential environmental and health impacts, it is a viable economic activity that can help to address poverty and food security.
Livestock Emergency Guidelines and StandardsBy LEGS
Published by Practical Action Publishing
Website: http://practicalactionpublishing.org
2009, 260pp, ISBN 978 1 85339 679 3(Pb), £14.95
Livestock keepers in developing countries, highly dependent on their animals for food and income, are often severely affected during periods of crisis. However, until now there have been no widely available guidelines to assist practitioners, donors or policy makers in the design or implementation of livestock interventions in emergencies. Livestock Emergency Guidelines and Standards provides step-by-step guidance to enable the provision of more appropriate and better quality interventions in order to save lives and livelihoods by protecting livestock and, if required, restocking.
This manual presents the minimum standards for destocking, veterinary services, feed resources, provision of water, livestock shelter and settlement, and the provision of livestock. In addition, there are a number of case studies demonstrating good practice, which include livestock fairs and feed banks in Niger, veterinary interventions in Afghanistan, livestock relocation during flooding in Bangladesh, and livestock marketing in Kenya. At a time when climatic events are causing more frequent humanitarian emergencies, affecting communities who rely heavily on livestock, this book provides an important and timely resource and deserves to be taken seriously.
LEGS is also available free in pdf-format to download from the newly updated LEGS website: www.livestock-emergency.net.
May 2009
