Consulting the Genius of the Place: An Ecological Approach to a New Agriculture: Wes Jackson: 9781582437804: Amazon.com: Books
Consulting the Genius of the Place: An Ecological Approach to a New Agriculture Paperback – October 4, 2011
by Wes Jackson (Author)
4.7 out of 5 stars 8 customer reviews
Locavore leaders such as Alice Waters, Michael Pollan, and Barbara Kingsolver all speak of the need for sweeping changes in how we get our food. Also a longtime leader of this movement is Wes Jackson, who, for decades, has taken it upon himself to speak for the grasses and the land of the prairie, to speak for the soil itself. Here, he offers a manifesto toward a conceptual revolution: Jackson asks us to look to natural ecosystems — or, if one prefers, nature in general — as the measure against which we judge all of our agricultural practices.
Wes Jackson believes the time is right to do away with monocultures, which are vulnerable to national security threats and are partly responsible for the explosion in our healthcare costs. Soil erosion, overgrazing, and the poisons polluting our water and air — all associated with our contemporary form of American agriculture — foretell a population with its physical health and land destroyed.
In this eloquent and timely call to arms, Jackson asks us to look to nature itself to lead us out of the mess we’ve made. We do this by consulting with the natural ecosystems that will tell us, if we listen, what should happen to the future of food. (less)
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Product details
Paperback: 288 pages
Publisher: Counterpoint (October 4, 2011)
Language: English
8 customer reviews
4.7 out of 5 stars
Showing 1-8 of 8 reviews
Top Reviews
stephanie barnhizer
5.0 out of 5 starsI'd say "genius" applies to the writer, as wellJanuary 6, 2019
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
All involved with research and applications discussed in this easy-to-read (and understand) book are experts. There's a history here of American land use and conservation which I find interesting, invaluable, crucial.
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CHARLIE R. MACMILLAN
5.0 out of 5 starsOutstanding book. As a culture we have so much ...October 18, 2015
Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
Outstanding book. As a culture we have so much to learn about how we have destroyed our precious resource (soil). But Wes Jackson does offer some solutions. A long road, yes, and perhaps possible if we can do away with industrial farming practices. And of course proper caring leadership in the right places. True for most everything wouldn't you say?
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timothy
5.0 out of 5 starsHope for the futureAugust 26, 2017
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
Wes Jackson is a leader in describing what has happened to our soil, our agriculture and our food system-- his discussion perennial grain varieties and how that is a hope for our planet is one to be read by all
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Vic
5.0 out of 5 starsConsulting the Genius of the Place:September 21, 2013
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
Wes Jackson's research on food production suitable to the water scarce great plains of (Kansas) the "bread basket" of the USA that would not destroy the soil nor deplete the fossil water aquifer necessary to human life there is what earned him a MacArthur "genius grant" and an Atlantic Magazine cover story more than just a few years ago. This book gave me a glimpse of his philosophy and his soul; well worth my time and money.
6 people found this helpful
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Cissy48
5.0 out of 5 starsFive StarsAugust 4, 2015
Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
Great book.
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Sten
5.0 out of 5 starsThis is a profound, powerful book. The lengthy ...December 2, 2015
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
This is a profound, powerful book. The lengthy section on developing perennial grains will not be to everyone's taste, but that's just one section. A must read for anyone thinking about humanity's place in nature.
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R.A.E.
3.0 out of 5 starsWhere are your solutions?January 22, 2014
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
This is an easy/enjoyable read, it is not dry or boring. However, Jackson discusses in depth one possible solution to the agricultural problems he presents. I needed more complete and specific suggestions for solutions to today's issues in agriculture.
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JAY BREMYER
5.0 out of 5 starsThis PlaceFebruary 5, 2012
Format: Paperback
I've read many of these essays or heard them delivered, in other contexts, but applaud again and reaffirm how important I believe Wes Jackson is to our chance as a species to make adjustments that will improve our performance as an ecologically benign and perhaps even helpful character in the over all experience of the places on earth where we dwell. Various sections are also filled with sweet biographical material and loving references to his mentors and friends. He's also providing a significant history of the thinking and individuals who lay the groundwork for the Cartesian / Industrial world-frame, agriculture and ultimately agribusiness. as well as those great :thinkers who have re-recognized the essential importance of soil and worked to reverse the industrial view.
p. 244: "A primary purpose of this book has been to argue for the necessity and now the possibility of making the perrenial grains available for agronomists and ecologist to bring the process of the wild to the farm." p. 249: " By starting where our split with nature began, we can build an agriculture more like the ecosystems that shaped us, thereby preserving ecological capital, the stuff of which we are made, and guaranteeing ourselves food for the journey ahead." Like all of Wes Jackson's books, this is one to be read, treasured, and incorporated into how we see the world and act.
19 people found this helpful
