California Cuisine and Just Food (Food, Health, and the Environment) - Softcover

Finally! A book on the alternative food movement that tells the complex story of innovation by grounding it in a particular place and describing its historical evolution. California Cuisine and Just Food traces how a broader food quality agenda emerged over time―from land protection, to sustainable growing practices, to food quality and taste, to public health concerns, to equity and justice. This accessible book emphasizes concrete achievements without concealing the challenges that lie ahead in the struggle for food democracy.

The politics of food in the San Francisco Bay Area range from high-end restaurants to the efforts of the Black Panthers and the Berkeley Coop to bring fresh food to poorer residents. In this important book, Sally Fairfax and her coauthors ask, among other questions, how San Francisco's posh Ferry Plaza Farmers Market links to efforts to improve conditions for farm workers and school lunches. They conclude that the evolving understanding of food quality, which has shifted from sustainable farming practices to include flavor and aesthetics as well as personal and public health, can effectuate needed reforms in the current food system.

A wide-ranging exploration and careful celebration of Bay Area Alternative Food Networks, what they have accomplished, and what is left to be done.

A wonderfully rich narrative that skillfully weaves together history, theory, participant observation and rigorous analysis. The book provides significant socioeconomic, ecological, and cultural insights into food sovereignty, food security, food justice, science-society relations, state–civil society relations, and organizational co-evolution among diverse movements seeking high-quality food, environmental health, and social change.