Who's Squeezing the Consumer?, by Cathy Lerza and April Moore, 17 pp., $.75; Cheap Food for Whom?, by Cathy Lerza, 1979, 10 pp., $.50 (bulk rates on1 each available) from: National Family Farm Educational Project 918 F. Street N.W. 'Washington, DC 20Q04 Speaking of a "cheap food policy," these two small booklets ~larify just who's profiting when farmers earn less and consumers pay more at the store. Moreover they help'you . make co'nnections with people who are trying to turn things around. "Too often, consumers blame 'greedy' farmers for high food prices. Farmers, in turn, think consumers oppose their interests and are not willing to work with organized consumer groups. . . . Consumers and farmers together should determine whether or not the present food system is what we want." Both of these booklets are "rhust reads" for anyone trying to get a From Square Foot Gardening sense of how all of the pieces fit together; farmer/producers, agribusiness, foreign policy (i.e. the grain embargo and its effect on farmers), federal programs and you and me. -CC Agrarian Reform Guide, 1979, 24 pp., $.50 (bulk prices available), from: • Clergy and Laity Concerned • 198 ·Bro~dway New York, NY 10038 Newcomers to the study of international food policies and economics will find the articles in thi.s guide very eye-opening. Issues ranging from the Nestle's baby formula scandal in the Third World to institutional threats to the future of small family farms in America are introduced here. This pamphlet would make a very good study guide for church or community groups concerned about the po}itical choices that are linked with their grocery purchases. -CC , .. ~ I, • v, ti ... :, ~ :,~~pl ,, It l· I ~~, I, '~I" \I , , I , ,, ., (\\ • I -- .. -,...._, , I ,, ,/, ------ -~ \ ' ,1 !:::::. ' ·--=--=- I _y~ -- ·- · ·- February/March 1981 RAIN Page 7 "We shall not be moved"; The Historical Roots of Agrarian Reform, Symposium, Spring 1980, list of tapes and transcripts available from: Symposium Tapes 824 Shotwell San Francisco, CA 94110 Lawrence Goodwyn, Helen and Scott Nearing, and several others spoke at this symposium last spring. Rumor has it that the gathering was generally inspiring. Write for a complete list of the speakers and the tapes that are available. -CC GARDENING Getting the Most from Your Garden; by the editors of Organic Gardening, 1981, 482 pp., $14.95; Square Foot Gardening, by Mel Bartholomew, 1981, 347 pp., $9.95; both from: Rodale Press Organic Park Emmaqs, PA 18049 Gardening seems to be getting more and more complicated, what with Biodynamic French Intensive, and now this new geometric system. It makes me wonder how we ever fed ourselves before we got educated. But I love gardening books almost as much as I love gardening, and these two are both welcome at the Rainhouse. I'd be hard pressed to say which I pref~r, but Michael Stusser (horticulturist at the Farallones Rural Center) called Getting the Most from Your Garden "the single most informative book on gardening I've seen yet." It definitely fills the need for a really thorough coverage of intensive gardening methods that still leaves you free to play around. I've found most ."intensive'' books so dogmatic that you'd swear nothing will grow if a radish breaks formation. Hopefully Rodale will publish a book that meets the real need for a solid reference 1 on farm scale intensive food production soon. Square Foot Gardening reminds me of the gardens I had as a kid, when mom would stake out a sunny corner of the family garden "just for me." Conceptually manageable gardens are a novel idea. Nearly everyone starts out with twice the garden they need or can care for. This book helps you figure out how much you can grow in one square foot, then helps you expand appropriately. I especially love the little gardens in the back of the book, gardens for win,ter, for indoors, for wheelchair access, etc. -CC •
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