Farm by Nicola Harvey, Paperback, 9781922310545 | Buy online at The Nile
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Farm

the making of a climate activist

Author: Nicola Harvey  

Farm
Paperback

Is it possible to survive as a new farmer and change the future of farming at the same time?

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Summary

Is it possible to survive as a new farmer and change the future of farming at the same time?

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Description

For years we've been told that the food system is destroying the planet. That there are too many cows and tractors, too much fertiliser, too much waste, and that farmers and food manufacturers are polluting our atmosphere. But we've also been told that food can help save us from the worst of global warming. How can it be both destroyer and saviour?

In 2018, Nicola Harvey and her husband, Pat, left their careers and inner-city Sydney life to farm cattle in rural New Zealand. They thought it would be exciting, even relaxing, but soon found themselves in the middle of heated arguments and deep divisions about food, farming, and climate change.

In this profoundly personal story, Harvey takes readers into the heart of the industrialised global food system to share what life on the land is like when you're a new farmer just trying to survive - and change the status quo.

At odds with her family, and struggling to find a place within her new community, Nicola is at first outraged at the lack of action to curb global warming. When she realises, though, that we're all being sold a false fix, she begins to transform the farm into a site of activism. In the kitchen and on the land, Nicola finds hope and a path towards a cooler future.

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Critic Reviews

“'An enlightening read for everyone who is interested in food production. It is both intensely personal and vitally important, ranging far and wide across the agricultural spectrum, teasing out issues and raising questions, but also offering sustenance and hope.' -Julia Taylor, Books+Publishing

'Through her storytelling and reporting, Nicola Harvey renders in full colour arguments about food and climate change that too often are portrayed as black and white. Humanity, compassion, and rigorous research make this an essential book for both those working on food system issues and those who simply care about food.' -Alicia Kennedy

'More than a memoir, Farm is a call to arms for farmers to do better, for people to understand food systems better, and for all of us to join together and help heal the planet.' -Matthew Evans”

Is it possible to be a meat-eating environmentalist? How do you spend months bonding with your heifers, seeing them as they truly are-curious, playful and happy sentient beings-just to send them off to China, pregnant, as part of the live cattle export trade? How do you ignore the heat of prolonged summers, the onset of wild storms, and waterways polluted with eroded soil and synthetic fertilisers, when your baby daughter's very future is at stake? What on earth are you supposed to do? These are some of the moral issues Nicola Harvey must confront after leaving her journalism job in Sydney and returning to her homeland of New Zealand to become a farmer. While her husband puts his head down and gets on with it stoically, Harvey tries to find some answers, or at least some way to help her go on while she fails. She eventually concludes that failing just might be the answer: fail and fail again, but don't give up trying to change. It is heartening to hope that young female farmers like Harvey will upend modern food production and save us all as the climate deniers die off. But there are also new bad guys to fight: the monocropping meat-replacement industry that is simply continuing the environmental damage. Farm is an enlightening read for everyone who is interested in food production. It is both intensely personal and vitally important, ranging far and wide across the agricultural spectrum, teasing out issues and raising questions, but also offering sustenance and hope. Julia Taylor worked for many years in trade publishing.

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About the Author

Nicola Harvey is a writer, producer, and a farmer. Previously with BuzzFeed as a managing editor, she's now a podcast producer, with credits under her belt including Pretty For an Aboriginal, Debutante, and A Carnivore's Crisis, the latter with Rachel Khoo.

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Product Details

Publisher
Scribe Publications
Published
30th August 2022
Pages
256
ISBN
9781922310545

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