The June issue of The Organic & Non-GMO Report features an interview with farmer-author Eric Herm. To read the interview visit: http://www.thenon-gmoreport.com/articles/june2011/generationsfarmerorganicnongmo.php
Eric Herm’s book, Son of a Farmer, Child of the Earth, was reviewed in Sunday’s, January 9th, edition of the San Antonio Express-News. The review is by Ed Conroy. I’ve enclosed the review below:
“Eric Herm, a fourth generation cotton farmer currently working on the family farm near the West Texas town of Ackerly eloquently offers a cautionary tale in his important first book for those of us who take for granted plentiful, relatively inexpensive food at the supermarket.
He succinctly sums up the message of the first half of his book on Page 15, saying “If we persist in following the model of commercial agriculture, we are destined to fail.”
In three engagingly written and well-researched opening chapters dealing successively with the issues farmers face with seed, soil, rain and water, Herm produces a powerful critique of the problems caused by a model of agriculture increasingly reliant upon genetically modified organisms and pesticides.
He also tells the reader a lot about what the world looks like to a 36-year-old man who got off the farm to get an education in journalism, traveled the world, worked as a sports broadcaster, and decided to return to the farm with a new wife (and now a son), where his father and mother still work and live.
In short, he argues that “commercial agriculture” is slowly ruining vital resources to the point where another American Dust Bowl and other farming disasters — such as the continued collapse of commercial bee colonies — are not inconceivable.
Herm offers a wealth of information about growing practices known as permaculture, alternative ways to deal with insect pests, and rainwater harvesting, together with long lists of related books and websites that open up a multitude of possibilities for farmers and gardeners alike.
Having taken the reader to the point where it appears reasonable to have serious concerns about commercial agriculture, Herm launches into a series of prescriptions for curing what ails not only the farm but American society as a whole.
In his book’s second half, Herm leaves the terra firma he knows so well to tackle questions of money, government and social organization and what he foresees as the inevitable end of a petroleum-based economy.
It is here that some of his prescriptions lack the same kind of fact-based research and historical perspective as his analysis and critique of American agriculture.
Rather than analyzing in depth current federal agricultural policies and offering specific alternatives to them, including incentives for getting more young people involved in farming, Herm provides a 10-point guide to the American farmer that centers on disengaging from the mainstream economy and “getting smaller.”
He doesn’t quite say how to do so without going out of business.
On the other hand, his advocacy for cultivation of hemp (not the psychoactive kind) as a source of energy, food and clothing makes a lot of sense.
One does not have to agree with Eric Herm’s prognostications and prescriptions to see that his analysis of American agriculture’s problems is trenchant and troubling.
We can hope this book will add to the consciousness of the need for good food as the key to good health already being encouraged by Michael Pollan, Bill McKibben and many other writers — and spark a healthy debate about the future of the American farm.”
Ed Conroy is a San Antonio writer and critic.
Eric Herm, author of Son of a Farmer, Child of the Earth was interviewed yesterday on The Leonard Lopate Show.
A few days ago we received copies of Dreamriver Press’s latest title, Son of a Farmer, Child of the Earth. The book looks great! As with most of Dreamriver Press’s titles, it was printed on 100% recycled paper. George, our designer, did an amazing job with the cover design, the inner layout and choice of fonts. But, most importantly, we feel this book has a powerful and timely message. Hope you enjoy reading it, and help spread the word!
This video-animation is based on the metaphor of the frog as found in the book Invaluable Lessons from a Frog by Olivier Clerc.
Animation by Westley Barcliff – Sound by musicrollercoaster
(youtube.com link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_SinwzKhhg)
The Nautilus Book Awards, whose mission is, “Changing the World One Book at a Time”, has named The Missing Peace: The Hidden Power of our Kinship with Animals as a 2010 Silver Award winner.
The Missing Peace shines a light on something we, as individuals and as a society, often neglect to see: the missing piece—our relationship with animals. Part I of the book is full of true, life-altering stories, guaranteed to prompt us to take a deeper look at our own dietary and lifestyle choices. Part II examines the spiritual, scientific and historical reasons for changing our views towards animals.
The Nautilus Book Awards was established in the year 2000 to honor and celebrate print and audio books of exceptional merit that make a literary and heartfelt contribution to spiritual growth, conscious living, high-level wellness, green values, responsible leadership and positive social change, as well as to the worlds of art, creativity and inspiration. The Silver and Gold winners are carefully selected in a three- tier judging process by an experienced team of book reviewers, librarians, authors, editors, bookstore owners, and leaders in the publishing industry.
Winning authors reflect the Nautilus Awards mission and include such distinguished authors and teachers as Deepak Chopra, Thich Nhat Hanh, Barbara Kingsolver, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Joel Olsteen, Caroline Myss, and Marianne Williamson. Founder, Marilyn McGuire, has created the “Nautilus Library of Imagination & Possibility” where all Nautilus Award winners are featured.
This is a recent video interview Olivier Clerc, author of Invaluable Lessons from a Frog, gave to Lilou Mace. Enjoy!
I recently finished reading the 1491: New Revelations of the Americas before Columbus, by Charles C. Mann. It was a fascinating book that gave me insight into the history of the people that inhabited the American continent. These people created civilizations which were in many ways different from the Euro-Asian models many of us might hold as examples of civilized societies. A common link between these cultures that once inhabited America, was land design and management: they used ingenious ways to shape the natural landscape that surrounded them. So much so, that the European settlers could not realize that the natural landscape they saw, was to an extent a vast garden that was consciously and deliberately planned.
In its conclusion the book makes an interesting and fascinating claim. It supports that the native Indians greatly influenced the culture and values of what would become the United States. In fact several of the authors of the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution had frequent and extended interactions with the native Indian cultures. Many European settlers had lived side by side with Indians, and had observed the great freedom that the Indians valued and enjoyed, as compared to the authoritarian social systems of the European states of the time. Perhaps our modern day societies owe much more to the Indian cultures than what has been thought of before.
Teri Degler is interviewed by Lilou Mace about her latest book, The Divine Feminine Fire, published by Dreamriver Press.
