From the Ground Up

The Women Revolutionizing Regenerative Agriculture

Stephanie Anderson

An award-winning author’s powerful exploration of the remarkable women driving transformative change in America’s food system

“Anderson is a strong new voice for an agriculture that works for public health, for nature, and for farmers.” —Judith D. Schwartz, author of Cows Save the Planet, on Stephanie Anderson’s One Size Fits None

It’s well known that our industrialized food system has abandoned priorities of nutrition and environmental stability in the pursuit of profit—a model designed to fail, especially as climate change escalates. Yet this groundbreaking book describes a glimmer of hope: a green wave of diverse female farmers, entrepreneurs, community organizers, scientists, and political leaders who operate with the shared goals of combatting climate change through regenerative agriculture, redesigning the food system, and producing healthy, socially responsible food.

From the Ground Up, by award-winning author Stephanie Anderson, offers a journey into the root causes of our unsustainable food chain, revealing its detrimental reliance on extractive agriculture, which depletes soil and water, produces nutritionally deficient food, and devastates communities and farmers. Anderson then delivers an uplifting, deeply reported narrative of women-led farms and ranches nationwide, supported by women-led investment firms, farmer training programs, restaurants, supply chain partners, and advocacy groups, all working together to create a more inclusive and sustainable world.

From the Ground Up sheds light on a set of inspiring journeys, with stories that will transform the way we think about the food chain—one that can weather the storms of climate change, conflicts, and global pandemics.

Praise

“Stephanie Anderson does a masterful job of revealing the many gears and pulleys that keep the industrial food system going and shows how women—digging in at every level—are bringing their creativity and grit to enacting much-needed changes. An eye-opener in so many ways.”

—Kristin Ohlson, author of Sweet in Tooth and Claw: Stories of Generosity and Cooperation in the Natural World

“A fascinating introduction to the world of regenerative agriculture.”

—Foreword Reviews

“It’s not surprising that women are leading so many of the efforts to change our industrialized agriculture. Since we’ve reached the place where much of our corn is turned into gasoline, it’s clearly time for some rethinking—and some re-feeling, if that’s a word. Growing actual food is among the most human things we can do—it’s time to recover that.”

—Bill McKibben, author of Deep Economy: The Wealth of Communities and the Durable Future

“In this refreshing book, Anderson reminds us that although our food system appears imperiled, it is salvageable—and women will save it. Highlighting what she describes as ‘civic agriculture,’ she takes us on an important journey across the country to meet women farmers and activists who are taking back the food system while putting people and the environment first.”

—Karen Washington, co-founder of Black Urban Growers (BUGS)

“[From the Ground Up] offers a breath of fresh air and hope. . . . An important contribution to agriculture literature that is sure to appeal to numerous readers. They will enjoy the uplifting message of this book as well as the stories showcasing the grit and determination of those working in this field.”

The New Press

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