Against the Grain: How Agriculture Has Hijacked Civilization.

AGAINST THE GRAIN: How Agriculture Has Hijacked Civilization RICHARD MANNING

Manning looks at the seedy side of agriculture since the beginning of time. He recounts how human disease, imperialism, colonialism, and slavery have been tied to growing grain. Beginning with agriculture's roots in the Middle East 10,000 years ago. Manning considers how abandoning hunting and gathering separated people from nature. When crops failed, people starved. Colonialism wasn't so much accompanied by agriculture as driven by it. Slavery provided the labor force that agriculture demanded. This history evolved into the agribusiness of today, which Manning asserts damages the environment while making each of us dependent on that economic force. The author suggests a shift back toward self-sustaining agriculture and organic farming to better sustain the environment and us. North Point Pr, 2004, 232 p., hardcover, $24.00.