Lentil Underground, Liz Carlisle
Lentil Underground, Liz Carlisle
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Lentil Underground
Renegade Farmers and the Future of Food in America

Author: Liz Carlisle

Narrator: Tavia Gilbert

Unabridged: 7 hr 23 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 11/21/2017

Synopsis

The story of the "Lentil Underground" begins on a 280-acre homestead rooted in America's Great Plains: the Oien family farm. Forty years ago, corporate agribusiness told small farmers like the Oiens to "get big or get out." But twenty-seven-year-old David Oien decided to take a stand, becoming the first in his conservative Montana county to plant a radically different crop: organic lentils. Unlike the chemically dependent grains American farmers had been told to grow, lentils make their own fertilizer and tolerate variable climate conditions, so their farmers aren't beholden to industrial methods. Today, Oien leads an underground network of organic farmers who work with heirloom seeds and biologically diverse farm systems. Under the brand Timeless Natural Food, their unique business-cum-movement has grown into a million dollar enterprise that sells to Whole Foods, hundreds of independent natural foods stores, and a host of renowned restaurants.

From the heart of Big Sky Country comes this inspiring story of a handful of colorful pioneers who have successfully bucked the chemically based food chain and the entrenched power of agribusiness's one percent. Journalist Liz Carlisle weaves an eye-opening and richly reported narrative that will be welcomed by everyone concerned with the future of American agriculture.

About Liz Carlisle

Liz Carlisle holds a BA from Harvard University and a PhD in geography from the University of California at Berkeley. She is a Lecturer in the School of Earth, Energy, and Environmental Sciences at Stanford University. Her first book, Lentil Underground, won the Montana Book Award and the Green Prize for Sustainable Literature.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Kate on May 14, 2020

My favorite thing about this book was the care it took to avoid oversimplifications. It explained why "going organic" is an oversimplification; why "eating within 100 miles" is an oversimplification. A story of how farmers in Montana are working to rebuild their soil, it points out what are often co......more

Goodreads review by Keith on August 30, 2019

Want to know what it's really like to be an organic farmer? This is your book---especially if you want to know what it's like to grow lentils in Montana. The author weaves together a number of stories about organic farmers and how they came to want organic agriculture to succeed, even though there......more

Goodreads review by Ryan on March 01, 2015

My 4 favorite takeaways: 1) eating organic lentils shipped in from across the country is more environmentally friendly than local conventionally grown food. 2) we've been practicing agriculture for 12000 years, and only using heavy chemicals for 60 years. 3) legumes are green manure, they fix nitrog......more

Goodreads review by Malia on June 03, 2018

Way more interesting than I thought it would be! I was so engaged with the stories of these farmers, out there changing the world. :)......more

Goodreads review by Kate on August 22, 2019

Although some sections were of only marginal interest to non-farmers, overall the book was a worthwhile read. I had no idea how difficult it was for farmers to transition to organic methods. The commitment and persistence of the farmers who began the process in northern Montana was stunning, especia......more

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