Back Issues

No.1, Jan-Mr 2008

NEWS@GLOBALHORT

No. 2 April-June, 2008

GlobalHort welcomes the submission of news features of interest to our communities.  Please send your suggestions, features or publications that you would like to have disseminated to the editor.

A Thailand Forum on Public-Private Partnership to Enable Modern Techniques in Vegetable Production in Tropical Asia

Published on 3^rd Apr 2008

Following the International Symposium on Socio-Economic Impact of Modern Technique in Vegetable Production in Tropical Asia (Chiang Mai, 3-6 Feb. 2008), recommendations issued from there were proposed and discussed amongst a panel of public and private actors for improving innovation transfer and adoption by the tropical Asian vegetable producers. 

Much has been talked about breeding, seed production and marketing, but choosing improved varieties is not the single technology needed to increase producers’ benefit.  A technical package of good and simple practices should accompany the genetic improvement.

As a demonstrative example, a few pictures taken in February by GlobalHort in Chiang Mai, Thailand (left hand) and in Arusha, Tanzania (right hand) on a similar cucumber crop: planting in row, on benches, using plastic mulching, rational sticking, watering in furrows are commonly used in Thailand and could help Tanzanian farmers manage more efficiently water, weeds and labour. 

Proposed areas for recommendations and improvements on Public-Private Partnership: 

1. Information management (statistics, access to)
2. Capacity building, training and networking: for public and private sector at any level
3. Encouraging good practices and simple techniques
4. Food safety: carrot and stick (promotion campaign and awards, control and certification tools)
5. Developing risk management strategies (credit, GMO, organics…) through new type of extension?
6. Seed industry: more defined roles for each part  (GMO, organics, IPR, genetic resources)
7. Empowering farmers to share higher benefits from vegetable farming

Click here for the recommendations for improvements on Public-Private Partnership in the Vegetable Sector in Tropical Asia

Dr Jürgen Anthofer to Join GlobalHort Staff in Arusha as Portfolio Manager

Published on 14^th May 2008

Dr Jürgen Anthofer, a German citizen, will join GlobalHort secretariat at Arusha in June 2008 as Portfolio Manager. He studied International Agriculture (B.Sc.) and Environmental Protection (M.Sc.) at the University of Kassel. From 1996 to 2000, he worked as an agricultural advisor for the Sedentary Farming Systems Project (FSFP) in Ghana, a development project supported by the German Development Cooperation (GTZ) and the German Development Service (DED). During that time, he carried out adaptive research for which he earned a PhD in Agricultural Sciences by the University of Hohenheim. Later, he worked as scientific co-worker at the Universities of Kassel and Hohenheim as well as consultant in various short to medium term assignments in the fields of agricultural research and development in Asia and Africa. During the last two years, he worked as Researcher on Integrated Natural Resource Management for the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), based in Aleppo, Syria.

GlobalHort: What have you been doing in the past 2 years that makes you involved in the issues targeted by GlobalHort?  

J.A.: During the last two years I was working as Researcher on Integrated Natural Resource Management at the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA). I was mainly involved in the Livelihood Resilience Project in the Karkheh River Basin in Iran where I served as the deputy project manager. This project was part of the Challenge Program for Water and Food. It was designed as a multi-stakeholder project bringing together efforts of various research institutes in Iran as well as the agricultural extension department, policy makers and a very active NGO to improve the livelihood of the rural poor in the harsh environment of dry mountains. It is often not easy to bring actors together but we need to harmonize these different activities in order to achieve our targets more efficiently. Given the challenges of increasing food insecurity in many parts of the less developed world we need to develop more efficient ways to collect, manage and disseminate knowledge. In the end, we need to achieve impact. In that regard, GlobalHort appears to me as a very innovative and unique initiative. It is looking at the underexploited potential of high value crops like vegetables and fruits and the added value of their processed products to reduce poverty. At the same time, horticultural crops consumed by poor farming households can alleviate malnutrition and improve the diet. GlobalHort can help to bridge the gap between research and its practical application and as a facilitator to synthesize various activities in the horticultural sector it is expected that GlobalHort will develop towards a focal point for horticulture. I can see many possibilities for synergies, which we can exploit. The CGIAR’s Challenge Programs also look beyond the pure research aspects but intend to achieve impact through new partnerships. At present, GlobalHort together with AVRDC and ICARDA is working on a proposal for a new Challenge Program on High Value Crops. I am sure that my previous experience with a Challenge Program in Iran will help me to manage such a project most effectively.  

GlobalHort: How do you see your role in GlobalHort as a port-folio manager? 

J.A.: GlobalHort is still young. In order to function well and to provide a platform for all actors working on and interested in horticultural crops, we need to increase our funding capacity. Since GlobalHort is also bridging the gap between horticultural research and development efforts, we will actively approach donors who fund research as well as donors who fund development cooperation. Once a project can be initiated with our partners, I will be in charge of the overall project management, starting with project planning, timely project initiation and followed by financial supervision, project monitoring and reporting. However, this will not be a one-man show. I see myself as a team member of GlobalHort and the work with our project partners will also be based on participatory principles and mutual respect.  

GlobalHort: Any experience of East Africa? 

J.A.: It will be my first time working in East Africa and I am looking forward to it. I have been working for several years in a development project in Ghana, which I enjoyed very much. This project had also a component to improve the post-harvest sector, including processing and marketing of vegetables. It was quite evident that there is a high potential in that sector especially for the poorer households in rural areas. Coming back to your question, Africa is not an unknown spot for me and in a certain way it will be like coming home.

 

GlobalHort Participates in the Development of the High Value Crops Challenge Program Proposal

Published on 14^th May 2008

GlobalHort is an active player in the development of the High-value Crops Challenge Program proposal. Its staff participated in both meetings of the core members, and in particular contributes to the Capacity Building Virtual Working Group.  Co-Hort: The Challenge Program on High-Value Crops (Fruit and Vegetables) is the knowledge management site located on the GlobalHort Portal which is managed by the GlobalHort webmaster. 

The Co-Hort proposal will be built on diverse and exciting partnerships that open up new opportunities for research and impact focused on the needs of the poor.

GlobalHort Visits Sokoine University of Agriculture

Published on 14^th May 2008

GlobalHort has been invited to officially visit Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA), and discovered a unique Tanzanian, East African and pan-African institution for capacity building in horticulture. Pr. Amon Maerere, Director of the Dept. Crops Science and Technology, was guiding Francophone delegates: Dr Jacky Ganry, CIRAD/ISHS, Jerry Miner and Dr. Remi Kahane, GlobalHort (above). After fruitful discussions with several heads of department of SUA, an agenda of research topics to be targeted and addressed in common has been established: city supply in fresh fruits and vegetables, fruit fly control, genetic improvement of vegetatively propagated species (banana, garlic, vanilla), post-harvest constraints in fruits and vegetables (food processing in particular).  

Pr. Maerere has agreed to organizing the African Anglophone workshop of FAO-WHO initiative for the promotion of fruits and vegetables (production and consumption), as a parallel to the Francophone event of October 2007 in Yaoundé, Cameroon. CIRAD and GlobalHort were committed in facilitating the organization of such an event by SUA. 

As an immediate outcome of this visit, SUA was invited to join two networks, one regional program on plant protection in the Indian Ocean zone, managed by CIRAD in Reunion Island; and one international Master Degree in tropical horticulture, as a proposal for French or EU-granted program in capacity building. The French embassy is supportive in both projects.GlobalHort discovered the Pan-African Plant Seed Health Unit hosted at SUA by Pr. Maerere’s Dept. (above) and its huge potential for training and conducting research and education activities at an international level. Together with the facilities of SUA, this presents collaborative opportunities for the vBSS program of the World Vegetable Center on vegetable breeding and seed systems.

Tanzanian Horticultural Association (TAHA) and GlobalHort to Work Together to Promote Horticulture

Published on 14^th May 2008

The Executive Secretaries of Tanzanian Horticultural Association (TAHA) and GlobalHort have met in Arusha in April, and agreed on several points:  

• TAHA and GlobalHort work together on the promotion of horticulture, at different levels only (national/international). Both are complementary and should develop common views and projects for their own efficiency.
• Capacity building and knowledge management has appeared to be a key area for immediate and strong partnership. GlobalHort will deliver all kind of information of interest for TAHA regarding existing networks, on-going projects and programs in preparation. For example: ISHS reference to become a member, CTA contacts for training supports and facilitators, PIP information newsletter, Challenge Program on High Value Crops in preparation.
• GlobalHort invites TAHA to become a member of ISHS, and to its farmers' organizations to become member of IFAP, the International Federation of Agricultural Producers. The statutes of TAHA could be forwarded to IFAP to know its eligibility to become a member itself.
• TAHA invited GlobalHort to participate in the launching of the Horticulture Development Council of Tanzania (HORDECT), a national public-private platform for stakeholders in horticulture, 24-25 April in Arusha.
• TAHA will inform GlobalHort about its regional assessment of the needs of the Tanzanian horticulture industry in terms of training and education for its staff, and its business plan to be implemented. Joint efforts at the national and sub-regional levels could better succeed in raising funds to support this plan and potentially develop a wider program.  

The First All Africa Horticulture Congress Announced for Spring 2009

Published on 14^th May 2008

GlobalHort was invited to an ISHS Council and Executive Committee joint meeting in Agadir, Morocco (12-15 April) to announce the organization of the first All Africa Horticulture Congress in Kenya, April 2009.  ISHS and GlobalHort will facilitate this continental event to ensure audience and high quality performances. 

"Fruits" Journal now Indexed by ISI

Published on 14^th May 2008

Since January 2008, the scientific journal “Fruits” ,edited by CIRAD and recognized by ISHS, is now indexed by ISI. Please visit the website, submit original articles or review papers (chantal.loison@cirad.fr), and get a subscription (subscribers@edpsciences.org) or free access with AGORA. “Fruits” is publishing in two languages (English or French). Scientific papers related to tropical or sub-tropical fruits (botanical fruits: vegetable fruits are eligible). 

The Baobab: An Ancient Tree with Many Uses

Published on 14^th May 2008

The fruits of the baobab tree contain a sticky pulp that can be dried into a nutritious powder high in protein, vitamins, and minerals. The powder is stirred into warm water or milk to create a healthy drink, and also beaten and dried into thin pancakes for use months or even years later, aiding food security. During the rainy season, villagers often store water in the tree's trunk for later use. The sale of baobab fruits aids rural commerce, and the trees themselves -- which also yield a popular leafy vegetable -- are almost indestructible

Its leaves are rich in vitamin A and used as an ingredient in sauces for family meals. To help reduce the pressure on the trees caused by intensive use of their leaves, research teams from the ICRAF and IER Mali have developed a technique for growing baobabs as a market garden crop Valérie Savard, Alain Olivier, Steven Franzel, 2006. Baobab. In: Bois et Forêts des Tropiques, Useful Trees, 287(1). Although the technique is relatively recent, a study of its uptake potential was carried out in the Segou district in Mali, where dissemination activities have already started. Results indicate that despite some constraints, the technique is accessible to peasant farmers in terms of feasibility. Constraints include the availability of sufficient manpower, land and water, and the low rate of seed germination, which is also very slow. However, the fact that baobabs are sacred and associated with various taboos does not seem to affect the technique’s acceptability. On the other hand, the fact that growing baobabs is likely to bring men into the mainly feminine area of market gardening may become a cause of conflict.  Uncertainties over the profitability of the technique may also be a major constraint. Several modifications to the technique developed by the farmers themselves as well as a number of innovations may open up perspectives for different methods to achieve the objectives set out. 

GLOBALHORT NEWSLETTER

No. 1 January-March, 2008

GlobalHort welcomes the submission of news features of interest to our communities.  Please send your suggestions, features or publications that you would like to have disseminated to the editor.

Featured Article

GlobalHort Holds Second Annual Board of Directors Meeting in Hong Kong Dec. 8, 2007

Published on 18^th Jan 2008

For GlobalHort, 2008 marks the start of a new era with a strengthened Board of Directors, growing staff and activities, including research projects needing to be facilitated or coordinated, global events on horticulture to be organized and convened and new resources to be acknowledged.  These priorities and decisions have been taken on December 8, 2007 during the second annual meeting of the GlobalHort Board of Directors.  The meeting was to have been originally held at the CGIAR AGM in Beijing however, due to political reasons, the venue was quickly changed to Hong Kong where a very productive meeting was held. 

GlobalHort was officially launched in March 2006 where the interim Executive Committee identified and nominated the first organizations to have representatives on its Board of Directors for a three-year term. In April 2007 Rémi Kahane was selected as its first Executive Secretary.  Much has been accomplished over the formative year and a solid foundation has been established for a successful and dynamic organization.

The Board of Directors would like to announce some changes in its composition for 2008.  It would like to welcome a new organization representing the farmers’ groups, International Federation of Agricultural Producers (IFAP). The Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR) will debate on its representative members to the Board.  Dr Thomas Lumpkin was confirmed as Board Chair however, since he will be moving to CIMMYT in 2008, Dr Norman Looney, President of ISHS, was elected as Vice-Chair for a 3-year period with the capacity of taking over all the duties of the Chair.  GlobalHort would like to thank Dr Lumpkin for his vision, dedication and leadership and wish him well in his new DG position.

GlobalHort has submitted its statutes and will soon be registered under Belgian law as an international organization. The Board now feels that it is time to move on to even greater challenges.  A high-quality and extendable web portal, GlobalHort Portal, has been recently established as well as setting up its Executive Secretariat with newly recruited staff in Africa. Jerry Miner is the Webmaster and Communication Officer who has just arrived in Arusha and the Portfolio Manager, Jürgen Anthofer, will start in April.  The next great challenge is to secure increased funding for GlobalHort’s activities. For this, there are great expectations of being able to rely on the French government, the European Commission, the Dutch government and on the Taiwanese government for their kind and generous support.

 Horticulture is now becoming widely regarded as an engine for growth in the developing countries and the CGIAR and the World Bank must turn this interest into support.  GlobalHort finds itself well-placed and equipped to take on the leadership role as its promoter, collaborator and capacity builder.  Research will continue to be an important focus however this will also be supplemented with an interest in the more practical programs relating to the farmers and the link to markets.     

Staff News

GlobalHort Welcomes its First Webmaster for Communications to Arusha, Tanzania

Published on 20^th Jan 2008

Jerry Miner has taken on a year's assignment from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) to be GlobalHort's first Webmaster in Charge of Communications starting January 7, 2008.  He comes to GlobalHort with over thirty years experience in the information management field.  Mr. Miner completed his undergraduate degree at Acadia University, Wolfville, Nova Scotia, and obtained his M.L.S. (Library Science) from the University of Toronto.  Mr. Miner has worked as an academic librarian at the University of Saskatchewan, the University of New Brunswick, and Acadia University.  He has also worked in the public library sector as the Union Catalogue Librarian for the Nova Scotia Provincial Library in Halifax, Nova Scotia.  For the past 27 years, Mr. Miner has been the Head of Information Services at the Atlantic Food and Horticulture Research Centre, Kentville, Nova Scotia.  In this position he was a member of the Canadian Agriculture Library Network which is the oldest federal library system in Canada and is also the largest agriculture and food science library in Canada. In 1997 Mr. Miner was the recipient of an Agcellence award for innovation for his participation in the Agriweb Canada initiative.  In 1998 the AAFC Research Branch presented him with another award for his work as an AAFC Internet pioneers.  Always interested in the web as an educational tool, Mr. Miner from 1997-1999, through a Canada Interchange with Acadia University, served as the first Program Head at Acadia University's Vaughan Memorial Library to leverage the use of the Internet for teaching and life-long learning.  As a result of his efforts in this position Chatelaine Magazine's Sept. 2000 Webguide acknowledged his Good Health Online website to be "one of the most helpful sites of its kind in Canada".  Mr. Miner is very excited about having been given the opportunity to work on a fine global initiative such as this one and hopes that the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) will become one of its funding partners. For more information on Mr. Miner's Tanzanian adventure you may visit an article that was published in a Canadian newspaper just prior to his arrival in Arusha.               

Activities

GlobalHort Secretariat Update on Activities for 2008

Published on 5^th Mar 2008

So far 2008 has revealed itself to be a very active one for the Executive Secretary.  Africa, Asia, and Europe have been travelled in order to link as many partners and initiatives as possible.

The ISHS symposium on the “Socio-economic Impacts of Modern Techniques on Vegetable Production in Tropical Asia” has provided 65 participants with case studies and research findings. It has substantially contributed to elaborate a position paper with six areas of recommendations for developing a stronger public-private partnership for vegetable production in Tropical Asia. 

At the end of the ISHS Symposium there was an Asian Vegetable Forum attended by representatives from six countries and the private seed sector. The Asia & Pacific Seed Association (APSA) and GlobalHort could share much more than just organize issues on vegetable production in Tropical Asia. During the Forum, AVRDC-The World Vegetable Center detailed its proposal for an international network on vegetable variety testing and a discussion followed as a result of demands for integrating technical practices (high or low input, protected or not, drip-irrigated or not) in order to deliver a complete information package detailing  more than just phenotypic variety characteristics.

GlobalHort has and will be promoting horticulture for development at numerous international events and initiatives.  The Secretariat has convened a special session with African scientific partners at the Symposium on Horticulture in Europe (SHE2008) in Vienna, Austria Feb. 17-20, 2008. It will facilitate the preparation of  proposals for a Challenge Program on High-Value Crops through the provision of an informative webpage on the GlobalHort Portal. (www.globalhort.org/network-communities/high-value-crops/).

The Secretariat has also contributed in the FAO-WHO program on the “Promotion of Fruits and Vegetables” (PROFEL), with workshops in Seoul and Yaoundé and continued discussions to follow at the “International Fruit and Vegetable Summit” in Paris, May 2008. This event  has attracted GlobalHort Board members to combine a Board meeting at the IFAP Paris head office. 

GlobalHort Held Prominent Facilitating Role at the PROFEL Workshop in Yaounde, Cameroon Oct. 23-25, 2007

Published on 21^st Jan 2008

IRAD and CIRAD, on the initiative of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO), organized this workshop on the "Promotion of Fruit and Vegetables in Francophone Sub-Saharan Africa" (PROFEL) that was attended by 76 experts from 16 African countries, and many representatives of international organizations.  The conclusion was that horticultre, health and education must work together to mitigate poor nutrition and poverty in Africa.  GlobalHort offered to host further PROFEL information on its GlobalHort website and will provide further support in any way it can. At the meeting RADHort looked at the linkages between PROFEL and RADHort and suggestions were made pertaining to changes in its statutes and management. Rémi Kahane will be attending the International Fruit and Vegetable Summit in Paris  May 27-30, 2008 where further discussions regarding cooperation amongst these players will take place.

Interesting Horticultural Links

From the Ground Up: Organic Gardening Fuels a Food Revolution  A quiet revolution is pulsing through the huge residential areas spread out on the edges of Cape Town.  An AllAfrica special festure, illustrated with video clips and photo galleries, provides coverage on a movement fuelled by vegetables and led by grandmothers

Try-African-Food.Com  Felix Muchiri Waweru is a student presently enrolled in the Masters of Plant Breeding and Genetics Program at the University of Nairobi.  He has come up with a very informative and entertaining website that showcases the vast assortment of African food.  He says that there are many "lost varieties" that have healthy nutritive values.  The creation of this website started when he began working on a project of empowering resource poor farmers in Kenya by exploiting new markets through e-commerce.  This website is 6 months old and it is gaining traffic daily.  In this site you will find information on such vegetables as stinging nettle (thabai), cowpea leaves (Kunde) and many more.  Mr. Waweu would like to collaborate with others to make this efforts a success.

IndigenoVeg  This is a network to promote the sustainable production of indigenous vegetables through urban and peri-urban agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa.  A conference was held Jan. 23-26, 2008 at Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa.  Click here for details.

Recipes and Interesting Stories About Tropical Horticultural Crops

GlobalHort Features the Pineapple with a Hot Pineapple Drink fom Peru

Published on 5^th Feb 2008

Did you know that you can eat almost the whole pineapple?  Marcella Dionisio is a technical trainee with a background in entomology.  She has been working at the AVRDC-RCA in Arusha, Tanzania for the last two years however she is originally from Lima, Peru. In Peru they make a delicious hot pineapple drink from the rind and core of the pineapple.  They call this drink Chicha Morada.  In Peru Marcella says that they add a purple maze called maiz morado to the recipe which makes it a purple colour however since it is not available in Tanzania she makes it without it.  The great thing about the recipe is that you are using the whole pineapple and not wasting anything.  You can enjoy the beveridge and still  have the fresh pineapple flesh as well.  This drink, when the chica is present, can also be fermented.  Pineapple juice includes vitamin C and the enzyme bromelain, which is a natural digestive enzyme with anti-inflammatory properties. Bromelain is found in peak concentration within the pineapple rind.

Recipe

Peel and core one well-washed pineapple.

Place the peel and core in a sauce pan and cover with water (approx 2 liters).

Add 10 whole cloves and 1 cinnamon stick (more to taste).

Boil for 5 minutes on high and then reduce the temperature and simmer for another 10 minutes.

Pour through a strainer into a juice container.  Sugar may be added to taste however it is not necessary.

The drink can be served hot or cold.

A more lavish recipe can be found here.

GlobalHort Features the African Nightshade with a "Nightshade with Green Soybean Dish" from Tanzania

Published on 6^th Feb 2008

Mrs. Joyce Ngegba from Tanzania developed this recipe while completing her studies at AVRDC-The World Vegetable Center.  The Center is involved in extensive research and development work to improve the usage of indigenous vegetables both in Africa and Asia.   

African nightshade (solanum scarbrum); Swahili name – Mnavu, is short-lived perennial herb. Leaves and fresh shoots of nightshade are widely used as a cooked vegetable often served with corn meal, sweet potatoes, potatoes, yams, cassava and rice.  To reduce the bitterness, leaves can be boiled and the water discarded.

Ingredients
Nightshade leaves – 150g
Green soybean, shelled – 150g
Carrots, cut into cubes – 120g
Onions, sliced – 60g
Roasted groundnut paste (blended peanuts) – 40g
Cooking oil – 40g
Salt – 4g

Procedure
Boil the green soybeans until half cooked. Prepare onions, carrots and groundnuts. Prepare nightshade leaves; sort and remove stalks and wash. Heat oil. Add carrots and onions, then add soybean. Fry until onions are lightly browned. Add salt to taste. Add the nightshade leaves, and then groundnuts. Mix well. Simmer for 5 minutes. Makes 3 servings.

Preparation time: 10 minutes; Cooking time: 20 minutes

Tips to retain and enhance nutrients
• One serving provides 10% of energy, 45% of vitamin A, 25% of zinc, 25% of iron and 25% of protein (Recommended daily allowances).
• Vegetable soybean improves the taste by reducing the bitterness in nightshades, and also provides protein, vitamin C, A and folate

Book Review

"In Defense of Food" by Michael Pollan. New York: Penguin, 2008. ISBN: 1594201455

What to eat, what not to eat, and how to think about health: a manifesto for our times "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." These simple words go to the heart of Michael Pollan's "In Defense of Food," the well-considered answers he provides to the questions posed in the bestselling "The Omnivore's Dilemma," Humans used to know how to eat well, Pollan argues. But the balanced dietary lessons that were once passed down through generations have been confused, complicated, and distorted by food industry marketers, nutritional scientists, and journalists-all of whom have much to gain from our dietary confusion. As a result, we face today a complex culinary landscape dense with bad advice and foods that are not "real." These "edible foodlike substances" are often packaged with labels bearing health claims that are typically false or misleading. Indeed, real food is fast disappearing from the marketplace, to be replaced by "nutrients," and plain old eating by an obsession with nutrition that is, paradoxically, ruining our health, not to mention our meals.

Michael Pollan's sensible and decidedly counterintuitive advice is: "Don't eat anything that your great-great grandmother would not recognize as food." Writing "In Defense of Food," and affirming the joy of eating, Pollan suggests that if we would pay more for better, well-grown food, but buy less of it, we'll benefit ourselves, our communities, and the environment at large. Taking a clear-eyed look at what science does and does not know about the links between diet and health, he proposes a new way to think about the question of what to eat that is informed by ecology and tradition rather than by the prevailing nutrient-by-nutrient approach.

"In Defense of Food" reminds us that, despite the daunting dietary landscape Americans confront in the modern supermarket, the solutions to the current omnivore's dilemma can be found all around us. In looking toward traditional diets the world over, as well as the foods our families-and regions-historically enjoyed, we can recover a more balanced, reasonable, and pleasurable approach to food. Michael Pollan's bracing and eloquent manifesto shows us how we might start making thoughtful food choices that will enrich our lives and enlarge our sense of what it means to be healthy. ...read more