Organic Food and Farming

Gr 6—9—This title first examines the difference between organic and conventional food in terms of human health. The articles have been successfully edited for brevity and clarity. Whether organic farming can improve the world is discussed in the second, and weakest, section of the book. One author argues that organic is not environmentally friendly due to overuse of natural pesticides, while the balancing viewpoint is so general that readers will never know about genuine environmental and pollution issues resulting from conventional agriculture. The articles debating the role of organic agriculture in feeding the world barely scratch the surface of global food issues, although the one on why organic cannot end world hunger is the stronger of the two. The bulk of the final section discusses the future of organic food and looks at the debate within the organic community on the direction of sustainable agriculture and the label organic. The excerpt from a Michael Pollan essay on why Wal-Mart's decision to sell organic products will ultimately undermine the meaning of organic through the dilution of standards and the creation of "industrial organic" is the strongest in the book. With its colorful graphs and photographs nicely breaking up the text, this serviceable book will provide a starting point for assignments.—Caroline Tesauro, Radford Public Library, VA