Now updated and expanded, a New York executive-turned-farmer shares his story and the hows & whys of running a small organic farm in 21st century America. Keith Stewart, already in his early forties and discontent with New York’s corporate grind, moved upstate and started a one-man organic farm in 1986. Today, having surmounted the seemingly endless challenges to succeeding as an organic farmer, Keith employs seven to eight seasonal interns and provides 100 varieties of fresh produce to the shoppers and chefs who flock twice weekly, May to December, to his stand at Union Square Greenmarket in Manhattan—the only place where his produce is sold. It’s a Long Road to a Tomato opens a window into the world of Keith’s Farm, with essays on Keith’s development as a farmer, the nuts and bolts of organic farming for an urban market, farm animals domestic and wild, and the political, social, and environmental issues relevant to agriculture today—and their impact on all of us. Includes a foreword by Deborah Madison and gorgeous new woodcuts by Flavia Bacarella Praise for It’s a Long Road to Tomato “Keith Stewart opens this engaging book by transforming himself abruptly from midlife executive into novice organic farmer. The twenty years that follow on an upstate New York farm are sampled here in true-life tales that—without denying the sometimes harsh realities of the small producer’s life—leave the reader in no doubt of the joys that keep this small farmer on the land.” —Joan Dye Gussow, author of This Organic Life “An enduring pleasure to read.” —Sally Schneider, author of A New Way to Cook “Stewart has been providing New Yorkers with magnificent vegetables for two decades. Now, as if to prove he can do anything, he provides all Americans with a compelling story about his own approach to farming. And at precisely the right moment, just as millions of people across the country are rediscovering the pleasure, and the importance, of eating close to home.” —Bill McKibben, author of Wandering Home and Falter

What is genetic modification? What does it truly mean for us and the world around us? What are the risks and benefits? And, what's more, how does it even work? The facts about GM are few and far between, but opinions from both sides of the debate are vocal and overpowering. Is that Fish in your Tomato? is a beacon through the noise, explaining the origins and science behind GM, the environmental uncertainties and the public health concerns which have opponents worried. No stone is left unturned in Nesbit's quest to explore the fact and fiction of genetic modification. In the process, she has created the quintessential, scientifically-informed guide to understanding the subject.

Genetic transformation is a key technology, in which genes are transferred from one organism to another in order to improve agronomic traits and ultimately help humans. However, there is concern in some quarters that genetically modified crops may disturb the ecosystem. A number of non-governmental organizations continue to protest against GM crops and foods, despite the fact that many organisms are genetically modified naturally in the course of evolution. In this context, there is a need to educate the public about the importance of GM crops in terms of food and nutritional security. This book provides an overview of various crop plants where genetic transformation has been successfully implemented to improve their agronomically useful traits. It includes information on the gene(s) transferred, the method of gene transfer and the beneficial effects of these gene transfers and the agronomic improvements compared to the wild plants. Further, it discusses the commercial prospects of these GM crops as well as the associated challenges. Given its scope, this book is a valuable resource for agricultural and horticultural scientists/experts wanting to explain to the public, politicians and non-governmental organizations the details of GM crops and how they can improve crops and the lives of farmers. It also appeals to researchers and postgraduate students. This volume focuses on the transgenics of mungbean, cowpea, chickpea, cotton, mulberrry, Jatropha, fingermillet, papaya, citrus plants and cassava. It also discusses CRISPR edited lines.

This two volume set of LNCS 11706 and LNCS 11707 constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 30th International Conference on Database and Expert Systems Applications, DEXA 2019, held in Linz, Austria, in August 2019. The 32 full papers presented together with 34 short papers were carefully reviewed and selected from 157 submissions. The papers are organized in the following topical sections: Part I: Big data management and analytics; data structures and data management; management and processing of knowledge; authenticity, privacy, security and trust; consistency, integrity, quality of data; decision support systems; data mining and warehousing. Part II: Distributed, parallel, P2P, grid and cloud databases; information retrieval; Semantic Web and ontologies; information processing; temporal, spatial, and high dimensional databases; knowledge discovery; web services.

HIGH MILEAGE HEARTS takes us back into the 20th century to days when if your dog lost the use of his hindquarters, he wasn't euthanized. Instead, he maneuvered about on a wheeled, home-built cart with a high-flying flag to pinpoint his location. The nine authors explore small town and rural living in a quieter, safer, more serene time, when fear meant the possibility of a snake dropping from the rafters rather than an act of terrorism, when a pharmacy security system was an oversized, rambunctious dog, not electronic surveillance. The authors share their quest for adventure, their quiet times, the fun and folly of their lives. The poetry addresses everything from humor to spirituality. Fiction is drawn from the imaginations and life experiences of the authors. We can't, nor perhaps would we want to, go back but we can cherish the way it used to be.

Progress in Food Biotechnology covers recent advances in the food processing sector. Readers will gain an academic and industrial perspective on how biotechnology improves food product quality, yield, and process efficiency. Novel opportunities for utilizing value-added products in the food industry, such as microbial cultures, enzymes, flavour compounds, and other food ingredients are also explained. Chapters in the volume cover topics related to (1) food bioactive peptides and functional properties of proteins, (2) classification, biosynthesis, and application of bacterial exopolysaccharides, (3) enzymatic modification of phospholipids, and related applications, (4) microbial culture research and application in food fermentation, (5) probiotics, prebiotics, and synbiotics, (6) biotechnological production of food additives, (7) phenolic-based nanoparticles and relevant applications, (8) enzyme discovery approaches and industrial dairy enzyme applications, (9) bioconversion of major industrial and agro-industrial by-products into various bio-products as examples of a bio-based economy, and (10) plant epigenetics and future prospects of epigenetics to improve crop quality. Information is presented in a simple language supported by graphs, tables, numbers, market trends, and accounts of successful product launches. This volume is a handy resource for a broad range of industrial researchers, students, and biotech professionals from both academia and industry who are involved in the multidisciplinary fields of food biotechnology and food chemistry.

Since the mid-1980s or even earlier, the global economy has continuously been plagued by one energy and food crisis or another. The ups and downs of the energy industry and market buoy and bubble along with food commoditiy prices. Every slight movement backwards or forward of crude features impacts food commodity prices on which the poor as well as the rich depend on for survival. This umbilical link between oil prices and food prices tortures our swelling populations, especially those in poor, underdeveloped countries. LASTING SOLUTIONS TO OIL-AND-FOOD PRICES is a bold attempt to address permanent solutions to this appalling situation. More ideas are needed, and much more bolder action. tWe must tackle these perpetual oil-and-food problems. Our populations keep increasing.Many teeming mouths to feed. Your contribution is welcome. Thanks.