FOOD The Busy People's Naturally Nutritious Decidedly Delicious Fast Foodbook, by Sharon Elliot, 1977, 117 pp., $4.95 plus $.50 for handling from: Fresh Press 774 Allen Court Palo Alto, CA 94303 TOXIes Training Materials on Toxic Substances: Tools for Effective Action, two volumes, January 1981, 604 pp., inquire for price, from: Sierra Club 530 Bush Street San Francisco, CA 94108 Reagan's in the White House and the cows are in the corn. There's chores to be done and times being what they are, Washington may not be the place to do them. Training Materials is part of the Sierra Club's effort to mobilize grass roots action against toxies. These two volumes represent an extremely useful strategy. Because careless misuse of chemicals has been so pervasive, It is a rare town or grange hall that couldn't be rallied around a local issue such as a spill or a waste site. Volume I is designed for the organizer with suggestions that even the seasoned activist might find handy. It prepares a group to take on issues responsibly and to act effectively. Volume II contains a great collection of articles and documents-an appendix to Volume I- and is an education in itself. Training Materials is a comprehensive education, training, and organizing program designed Tired of trying to survive on the carrot sticks and sunflower seeds you manage to grab while careening through the kitchen during the half hour between your yoga class and the commumty group meeting? You can throw together many of the Busy People's recipes in little more time than it will take to read this review. Start with a main course of Pizza Express (tomato sauce, oregano, basil and cheese on a slice of toast, broiled), wash it down with a Pink Tomato Blender for anyone serious about toxies control. James McClements The recent decades have been marked by two related phenomena: the ecological crusade and the rhetoric offear. You remember the mercury-in-fish scare? It sounds kind of ancient now, doesn't it? It meant nothing. We are living in a time of hysteria, ofcancer mania, and of the idea that, somehow or other, it is incumbent on society to produce a system of life that is totally free ofall difficulties, pain, and problems. We are asking for perfection from an imperfect world inhabited and run by less than perfect people. -Dixie Lee Ray, as quoted in Training Materials Public Policy for Chemicals , by Sam Gusman, Konrad von Moltke, Frances Irwin and Cynthia Whitehead, 1980, 144 pp., $8.50 plus $1.50 for handling from: The Conservation Foundation 1717 Massachusetts Avenue N.W. Washington, DC 20036 If you thought chemical control was a nightmarish tangle in this country, consider the prospect of expanding across international borders. And consider how wasteful and futile an uncoordinated International chemical control effort would be. PI/blic Policy comJune 1981 RAIN Page 17 Quencher (yogurt, tomato juice. garlic. worcestershire sauce, salt), and have some Great Balls of Peanut Butter (honey. peanut butter, powdered milk) for dessert. It may not be gourmet, but it's undeniably fast, more inspiring than carrot sticks. and easier on the arteries than Kentucky Fried. Give it a try. -JF pares almost exclusively the u.S. Toxic Substances Control Act and the European Community'SDirective 79/831/EEC, examining issues that policy makers must come to terms with, and dutifully revealing the complexities. The European Community particularly, as a supranational legislative body, faces extraordinary obstacles. But by focusing so doggedly on these two laws currently undergoing impleinentation without seriously questioning their efficacy and breadth, Public Policy avoids all but the most timid ideological stance, and falls short of its responsibility to come to terms with certain notable issues : Although the political and economic structure of the West is the playground of the multinationals, and Public Policy particularly addresses itself to matters of this scope, there is only a cursory discussion of the role multinationals play. And although this text is subtitled "National and International Issues", the Third World, where corporations will increaSingly sell banned pesticides, dump toxic wastes and exploit workers is not even touched upon. Public Policy is designed "to assist interested members of the public, businessmen (sic), government officials, and legislators." By sticking close to the mechanics of policy decisions, the Conservation Foundation will avoid alienating anyone, but one would have to be a dedicated student of the system in order not to feel that this book comes up short on the issues. - James McClements
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