Spring Reading List, As Recommended by Windrose Farm
Barbara and Bill Spencer of Windrose Farm share a handful of their book picks for some perspective on farming and today’s food system.
By Fred Provenza
“When I am in bookstores, I tend to wander until a book jumps out at me. In this case it took about 30 seconds. I love this book! The author is an animal behaviorist and a great writer who has studied the how, what and why animals in the wild and their domesticated counterparts make their food choices. We have much to learn from them.”
By Michael Foley
“Michael Foley teaches that we have 60 harvests left of the current agricultural economy, and that our next food system is based on the resilient agricultural systems of centuries past. He shares how we can get there again, building a viable small farm system after fossil fuels and lithium batteries are depleted. It’s time to start.”
By Robin Wall Kimmerer
“Descriptions of this book say that it is about plants and botany through the eyes of Native American traditions and Western scientific knowledge. That does not even come close. It is a beautiful book about gifts and lessons from plants and animals, and an especially fitting one for right now. If you only read one off this list — read this.”
By Josh Tickell
“An inspiring book for everyone in the family about how we can make choices on how we eat and how we look at the ground in our gardens. Each one of us can make a difference. It is encouraging for gardeners as well as farmers, and a great introduction to the concepts of regenerative farming, the path to our future.”
Looking for more? Here are a few extra Spencers-recommended books to dive into: Food, Farming & Health by Vandana Shiva, In the Shadow of Green Man by Reginaldo Haslett-Marroquin and The Soil Will Save Us by Kristin Ohlson. “You can tell we are soil fixated!”
