Improving Your Credit and Reducing Your Debt (I C F P Personal Wealth-Building Guides)

Book Description

A timely indictment of industrial agriculture's threat to the future of food, health, and the environment.

If we are what we eat, then, as Christopher D. Cook contends in this powerful look at the food industry, we are not in good shape. The facts speak for themselves: more than 75 million Americans suffered from food poisoning last year, and 5,000 of them died; 67 percent of American males are overweight, obesity is the second leading cause of preventable death in the United States and supersizing is just the tip of the iceberg: the way we make and eat food today is putting our environment and the very future of food at risk.

Diet for a Dead Planet takes us beyond Fast Food Nation to show how our entire food system is in crisis. Corporate control of farms and supermarkets, unsustainable drives to increase agribusiness productivity and profits, misplaced subsidies for exports, and anemic regulation have all combined to produce a grim harvest. Food, our most basic necessity, has become a force behind a staggering array of social, economic, and environmental epidemics.

Yet there is another way. Cook argues cogently for a whole new way of looking at what we eat—one that places healthy, sustainably produced food at the top of the menu for change. In the words of Jim Hightower, "If you eat, read this important book!"

Customer Reviews:

An Analysis of American Agricultural Mayhem.......2006-12-05

Christopher D. Cook's latest book Diet for a Dead Planet offers the American public with a wake up call view of the food industry today. As an investigative journalist, he gives a complete overview of the socioeconomic and political ills facing food production. He begins the supermarkets and ends with the global agricultural market.

Cook inspects the multifaceted complexities which have arisen due to cheap labor, often exploited and without healthcare. He also depicts the plight of migrant workers, processed food, and pesticides manipulatively spread over crops with the able assistance of government subsidies. The findings are thorough, compelling, and difficult to ingest at times. However, they are warranted as he introduces authorities to backup his claims.

The statistics Cook presents are real, yet harsh. Yearly, 75 million Americans are sickened by the food they eat, while an estimated 67 million birds are killed by the millions of pounds of toxic agricultural pesticides sprayed on crops. Meanwhile, farmers that remain take home only about 19 cents per food dollar spent by the average consumer (this is in comparison to 37 cents in 1980 and 47 cents in 1952) according to Cook.

Cook closely examines every branch of the food industry. In doing so, he reaches a necessary reason for change. The socioeconomic, environmental, and political injustices currently practiced weigh heavily on America's well being. Within each chapter, he goes into great detail explaining, expanding, and scoping the historical difficulties and how they adversely impact today's food industry. Beyond that conclusion, Cook explains that unless a new solution, specifically changing how food is "made", Americans will continue to spiral downward.

Cook clearly maps out the issues beleaguering and tormenting many workers in the food industry from farmers, supermarket employees to higher up executives. All problems such as exploited migrant workers, sickened Americans, corporate control, and government subsidies carry negative consequences for the future if nothing is done soon. In Cook's last chapter, he outlines a solution which focuses on changing the role of the food industry in the future. This book is powerful in its own right. However, more pages need to be devoted to envisioning that solution than one final chapter. I hope to see more works from Christopher Cook. I recommend this book as a read for anyone who eats. This is also a book for anyone who wants to learn the truth about a topic in urgent need of active change and tired of complacency.

A book for anyone who eats!.......2006-07-17

This book will open your eyes to the American food industry...from poor quality to bad business practices, Cook covers it all. I knew that quality and mega-chain stores were a concern, but I never considered the demise of our communities and food culture as a by-product of these issues. This book won't help you to sleep easier at night, but it will make you think before you purchase your next carton of milk or loaf of bread.

Millions of Americans are sickening from the food they eat.......2005-04-09

Millions of Americans are sickening from the food they eat, last year 5,000 died, and obesity and diet-related diseases are on the rise: so Christopher Cook's examination of the food industry in America in Diet For A Dead Planet: How The Food Industry Is Killing Us provides much food for thought. Cook is an investigative journalist whose probe of the food industry's perils is backed with facts and well-honed research. Food lies at the root of many epidemics and poor social and economic conditions. Cook not only pinpoints the problems, but argues for a new way of looking at what and how we eat which places sustainably produced foods within reach of the public. Diet For A Dead Planet is informed and informative reading.

a worthy analysis of contemporary agriculture.......2005-02-25

This is a well-written and well-researched description of the economic problems ailing contemporary American agriculture, and of the deleterious effects mammoth-scale corporate farming is having on the environment. The author is an experienced investigative reporter and an unashamed proponent of sustainable agriculture and the ever-dwindling "family" farmer representative of traditional crop cultivation in the United States. As such, Diet For A Dead Planet is a bit of a polemic and firmly in the camp of other books critical of the relationship between agricultural economics and modern food production, such as Eric Schlosser's Fast Food Nation. Needless to say, Cargill and Archer-Daniels Midland executives are not going to be enamored of Diet, but any citizen concerned about the state of farming in the US, and its effects on public health and environmental well-being, would do well to read this book.

Cook organizes his topic into three sections, dealing with food quality and safety; the business and economic aspects of modern agriculture; and environmental consequences of profligate pesticide use and "factory" farm effluents. Each section contains several chapters with extensive footnotes. The chapters are obviously targeted for a general audience, and as a consequence are very readable without overwhelming the reader with statistics and technical jargon. In particular, I found the chapters on the evolving history of American agriculture offered a concise but informative account of a complex and often tumultuous subject. Other chapters on such diverse subjects as the "mad cow" crisis, the continuous deposition of toxic pesticides in water supplies, and the travails of workers in high-throughput slaughterhouse operations, are all eye-opening to one degree or another.

Cook ends the book with a admonition to the public: unless we actively choose to support organic / sustainable farm operations, our health and the welfare of the environment we live in are not going to improve. Rather than simple hectoring, however, in the last segment of the book he provides an extensive listing of whole-food organizations and advocacy groups dedicated to helping us change the way we eat and consume natural resources. There is of course an element of "better to light one candle" rhetoric here; even Cook is not so naïve as to think that tomorrow will see the US converted to any kind of enormous vegan commune. But his hope is that after reading Diet some of us will devote a bit of thought to the hows and whys of our eating habits, and in this, I think he is as realistic as any "muckraker" can be.

A no-nonsense book.......2005-02-06

Whether he is taking on the exploitation of farm workers and poultry-plant employees; the take-over of large-scale agribusiness; farm subsidies, or an America swimming in pesticides and animal waste, Mr. Cook has clearly done his research. Extremely well documented, the book contains a number of startling statistics. Did you know that in California's Central Valley, the 1,600 dairies there generate more waste than a city of 21 million people? Did you know that in 1997, growers applied more than 985 million pounds of pesticides and herbicides to crops? Can you conceive of a farm subsidy system that has people like Scottie Pippin and Sam Donaldson receiving farm program monies?

There is a lot to ponder in this book and some excellent ideas and suggestions as to what we as consumers can do to make changes in our lives and our communities to help bring farming back to the people and out of the hands of the giant corporations.

Root temperature and plant growth; (Commonwealth Bureau of Horticulture and Plantation Crops. Research review no. 4)
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Root temperature and plant growth; (Commonwealth Bureau of Horticulture and Plantation Crops. Research review no. 4)
Allen John Cooper
Manufacturer: Commonwealth Agricultural Bureaux
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

General | Gardening & Horticulture | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
General | Plants | Biological Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0851982719

Effects of root temperatures and nitrogen carriers on nutrient uptake, growth, and composition of pineapple plants, Ananas comosus (L.) Merr (University of Hawaii)
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Effects of root temperatures and nitrogen carriers on nutrient uptake, growth, and composition of pineapple plants, Ananas comosus (L.) Merr (University of Hawaii)
Azeez Abdul Ravoof
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B000713270

The influence of growth media, temperatures, and light intensities on aspen root and top growth (USDA Forest Service research note INT)
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The influence of growth media, temperatures, and light intensities on aspen root and top growth (USDA Forest Service research note INT)
Gerald F Gifford
Manufacturer: U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Forest & Range Experiment Station
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0007HKG9Q

Root temperature and growth of young tomato plants (Wageningen. Landbouwhogeschool. Mededelingen)
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Root temperature and growth of young tomato plants (Wageningen. Landbouwhogeschool. Mededelingen)
H Harssema
Manufacturer: H. Veenman & Zonen B.V
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0007ALUR0

Book Description

Meet Willa, a rebellious teenager who cannot resist adopting canine misfits, and Sam, who follows a dog and finds a girlfriend. Fiona's Border collie knows the secret her family has never guessed. Sly hopes his fierce Mutt will keep at bay the terrors of a dark city street.

Betsy Hearne has skillfully crafted twelve short stories highlighting the special relationships that humans and dogs can share. Varied in tone and setting, her collection will make readers smile, cry, and keep turning the pages to see what happens in each new miniworld of real and imagined encounters.

* Betsy Hearne The Canine Connection: Stories about Dogs and People.(Book Review)(Young Adult Review)(Brief Article): An article from: The Horn Book Magazine
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* Betsy Hearne The Canine Connection: Stories about Dogs and People.(Book Review)(Young Adult Review)(Brief Article): An article from: The Horn Book Magazine
Joanna Rudge Long
Manufacturer: Horn Book, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books | Classics | Comic | Contemporary | Literary
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ASIN: B0008DHENK
Release Date: 2005-06-01

Book Description

This digital document is an article from The Horn Book Magazine, published by Horn Book, Inc. on May 1, 2003. The length of the article is 990 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: * Betsy Hearne The Canine Connection: Stories about Dogs and People.(Book Review)(Young Adult Review)(Brief Article)
Author: Joanna Rudge Long
Publication: The Horn Book Magazine (Magazine/Journal)
Date: May 1, 2003
Publisher: Horn Book, Inc.
Volume: 79 Issue: 3 Page: 348(1)

Article Type: Book Review, Young Adult Review, Brief Article

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Product Description

In Body of Truth, Dan Hill, PhD, explodes the rational approach to marketing and market research, using the latest findings on human cognition and communication to help marketers tap into consumers' real needs and wants. Hill backs his argument with new technology such as biofeedback and facial coding to measure and record consumers' true sensory responses to products and advertisements, providing a framework for developing marketing initiatives that elicit the optimal emotional response.

Body of Truth offers a new methodology that more accurately measures consumer desire and helps marketers use that data to craft more compelling and resonating brand stories. It transforms complex scientific concepts into actionable principles that marketers can immediately implement, and presents real-world examples of leading companies that have found powerful ways to communicate with consumers.

Customer Reviews:

Written before LOVEMARKS, but saying almost the same.......2006-03-12

very good book for marketeers and ad people, explaining the power and importance of emotions and emotional intelligenge in our lives and our consumer behavior.
the funniest thing is that Hill's BODY OF TRUTH was written before Kevin Roberts' LOVEMARKS, but it is saying more or less the same...

Don't waste your time.......2005-04-26

Have you ever seen something that looks to go to be real or even wonder how much of a front someone is putting up? Well that's the case with Dan Hill. His message seems good but meeting him in person was a completely different expereince. For someone that makes his life dealing and reading people you would think that the man would be more responsive and respectfull of people. I have a feeling that this book and person is a completely front.

It changed my thinking about consumer research........2004-04-03

You might think a book about measuring sensory responses to advertising stimuli would be either A) dry and boring or B) a soft-peddle pitch to get you to buy some expensive consulting gig rigged for sensory measurement...but this book is neither. It's a well-written, entertaining, thought-provoking and practical guide to re-thinking your approach to message development. Dr. Hill shares his experience and rich data with you in an easy-to-read book that breaks down his thinking in short, chewable chunks. I carried the book with me in my briefcase for a week, biting off 5-10 pages at a time between appointments and finding myself itching to get back into it at every available interval. All along the way, I was scribbling notes in the margins and underlining lots of material in anticipation that this would be a book I'd refer back to again and again in my travels with clients and creative types. Dr. Hill's "story line" approach to brand building is something I was able to put into play immediately upon finishing the book. I had a large campaign I was working on for a client and was able to integrate some of the "story line" thinking into our presentation in a way that made me sound like a visionary in consumer research! The client was impressed, the campaign turned out great and now we're anticipating additional work. More than just fad research, this book has staying power. And the examples Dr. Hill gives in each chapter create a veritable checklist for creating ad campaigns that not only circumvent conventional thinking, but resonate with the audience. I highly recommend "Body of Truth" to anyone in advertising, especially the creatives who are responsible for building brands and getting the message through in a cluttered media environment.

Disappointing.......2004-03-15

The subtitle is so very intriguing: "Leveraging what Customers Can't or Won't Say." I had expected something more in-depth into the theory and, more importantly, into the application of the concepts and findings. As a previous reviewer has said, if you are new to the topics of how the mind works, emotional branding and use of story, then this may be a decent introduction. But if you are even somewhat acquainted with these topics, then you may find this book disappointingly lacking.

Paradigm shift.......2004-01-31

Interesting to see that what we've learned in depth-psychology and mythology is finding its way into market-research insights. Hill's book is a good read with colorful examples, a conversant style and keen insights. He's offering the industry a paradigm shift that is sure to attract the next generation of achievers.

Book Description

Since moving west over a decade ago, Tom Groneberg has worked with horses as a trail guide, as a ranch hand, and as the manager of his own ranch in Montana, but he has never owned a really good horse. Until, on an autumn night, in a warm barn under a blanket of snow, Blue is born. Soon, he will belong to Tom Groneberg. "If I had a good horse," writes Tom, "I could give it my life. I could ride it for years. We could grow old together." So begins this unique American love story about a man and his horse.

In straightforward, poetic prose, Tom Groneberg chronicles the early successes and failures of trying to train Blue, earning the animal's trust, and saddling him for the first time. The experience is challenging, but ultimately rewarding for Tom. Through his relationship with the animal, he develops a deeper understanding of the land and his community, and of himself -- as a man, and as a husband and father. In a world in which horses are fast becoming nothing more than warm-blooded lawn ornaments, Tom still believes these animals are important in human lives.

At its heart, One Good Horse is about the power of hope, the simple story of a horse and the way people connect with nature and with each other across the generations.

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Customer Reviews:

Healing through horsemanship.......2007-06-05

Mr. Groneberg knows the West and takes us there instantly. His characters struggle, live, relate, disengage, and escape just like those anywhere else, but here things move differently. Our hero's method of dealing with, or avoiding, the difficulties of human relationships is through focusing his efforts and passion on the process of training an unbroken horse. As the complex stories unravel, the dusty trail becomes clearer and the beauty of human fragility shines through.

One Good Book!.......2007-01-26

One Good Horse picks up Tom's life where he is still in Montana working various ranch jobs to support his budding family. Dealing with all of the complications in his life, Tom decides that what he really needs is a horse. This is not to be an ordinary horse that belonged to another, Tom wants to buy an un-broke horse and go through the process of training him; not the old time approach of jumping on his back and breaking him but rather through kindness and teaching the horse what he needs to do without stress and confrontation. Concurrently Tom also chronicles the life of the horse as it eventually becomes part of the Groneberg family. For me, one of the things that makes this book special is the interjection of segments of Teddy Blue Abbott's wonderful book, We Pointed Them North. Teddy's colorful account of his cattle drive from Texas to Montana is beautifully woven in with Tom's own experiences and surprisingly transcends the century that divides the two literary works. I strongly recommend that anyone interested in the west (past and present alike) give this book a read - I believe you will thoroughly enjoy it.

one good writer.......2006-04-26

"Remember that life is not always fair, but it is good. Success is measured by the size of your heart," Tom Groneberg writes in his elegiac nonfiction followup to his successful memoir, The Secret Life of Cowboys. This time out, Mr. Groneberg writes of the eponymous equine, Blue, interspersing his tale of searching for that horse with his tales as husband and father to three young sons. In the process, he acquits himself not just as an extraordinary writer, but as an extraordinary father as well.

Thoroughly enjoyed this read!.......2006-03-19

Tom Groneberg's One Good Horse presents several characters from disparate times and influences. Several stories emerge, and are woven in, out and around the authors desire to buy, break and train one good horse. Initially, the books cast of characters seem unrelated as they move in and out of the story. But ever so masterfully this author breathes each one to life, and a common theme begins to coalesce and shimmer. Within each characters circumstance, sandwiched between all things ordinary, life folds tiny, subtle cataclysms that alter perceptions and expectations mercilessly for good or ill. The author opens a window into his own soul and humbly invites us to pause to wonder at the blessings and the disappointments of our naive and so often narrow expectations of life and its most precious commodity: time well spent; time purposefully spent. In this earthy book I can almost smell the hay and grass and hear the horses snort and breathe as I recognize life's brevity and beauty in the colors of the Montanta Sky. Just as in his book, The Secret Life of Cowboys, Tom Groneberg's transparency and gentle vulnerability in sharing his desires, his moments of bliss or epiphany and more often than not - his heartache and disappointment were a genuine delight.

It's not about the horse.......2006-02-13

The subtitle on Tom Groneberg's "One Good Horse" is "Learning to Train and Trust a Horse."

But this is no guidebook for would-be horse-whisperers, equestrians or rodeo cowboys.

Sure, the story is built around Groneberg's relationship with a young horse. The ranching business is going to hell and Groneberg's wife has just learned she's pregnant when he finds an unbroken horse, in which he invests his money, his time and his sense of self.

But this memoir is so much more. It's the story of a man finding his place in the world. It's the story of a romantic dreamer putting down roots. It's a story of the inexplicable bonds between cowboys. It's a story about who we see when we look in the mirror. And it's the story of a father confronting some of his worst fears.

At least four stories unfold simultaneously in this plainspoken cowboy poet's story. Groneberg explores the latigo mythology that haunts him, the landscape of his western Montana community and his own heart (which might be inextricable), the birth of a son with Down Syndrome, and his passion for one good horse, which after a lot of thought, he names Teddy Blue.

The name isn't merely a poetic accident.

"One Good Horse" is marbled with the colorful life story of Teddy Blue Abbott, a true post-Civil War cowpoke from the heyday of Texas trail drives, Charlie Russell and Billy the Kid. In the British-born Abbott (who died in 1939 at age 78), the reader sees the ghost-mentor Groneberg never knew. He's the cowboy Chicago-born Groneberg always dreamed of being.

But Groneberg's more cowboy than a lot of five-generation Montana poseurs who are more hat than cow, and never knew anything else. For more than 10 years, he's been a cowboy because he chose the life, not because it chose him. And this highly personal chronicle - an extension of his earlier "The Secret Life of Cowboys" - he opens his heart in ways few cowboys ever do.

The painful revelation of his newborn son's incurable genetic disorder sparks his commitment to be as good a father as he can be. And for him, that even more important than being a good cowboy.

The layering of Teddy Blue Abbott's historic adventures with Groneberg's contemporary life is reminiscent of "Battlefield" (1992) by Peter Svenson, an artist who learned about life, love and farming when he unwittingly buys an old Civil War battleground. Svenson cross-cuts historic accounts of the combat and his more sedate skirmishes with seasons, farm equipment and the ghosts of history.

In both books, this contrapuntal structure adds depth and wisdom, but Groneberg goes a step or two beyond the mere juxtaposition of twin stories from separate centuries. This is not just a story of a love for the western landscape, but also a story about the landscape of a heart. It's not an epic story, but its themes are grand.

The Adventures of One Feather - Book One: One Feather Makes a Friend (The Adventures of One Feather)

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The Adventures of One Feather - Book One: One Feather Makes a Friend (The Adventures of One Feather)
Daniel Joseph Farside, illustrated by Tracy Fisher
Manufacturer: Trafford Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Ages 9-12 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

All Amazon Upgrade | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books
ASIN: 1412028086
Release Date: 2006-06-30

Product Description

Look in a wondrous place (The Valley of Endless Breath) and the Indian tribe that lives there (The Kattywampas). Follow One Feather as he makes a new friend.

Little One... Good Night: A Lullaby from Vermont

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Lullaby Book

Little One... Good Night: A Lullaby from Vermont
kathryn mademann Vaughan
Manufacturer: Chaser Media LLC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Ages 4-8 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

Preschool & Kindergarten | Education | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
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What's Under the Sea?

ASIN: 0974744700

Book Description

Book & CD Set

Created, illustrated and musically-arranged in Vermont, this read-along, sing-along lullaby story is about Vermont's state animal-The beautiful Morgan horse. Through gently words, soft music and captivating illustrations, Little One...Good Night takes newborns and toddlers-even young readers-through a snowy country landscape to an afternoon nap or a night's sleep. Eight gentle songs on the CD virtually guarantee to lull your little one to sleep. For newborns to beginning readers.

Customer Reviews:

Lullaby Book.......2004-04-22

I purchased this book as a gift for a close friend who just had a baby. She absolutely loved it and found the CD to be relaxing and soothing. I would highly recommend this book.

One Good Horse: A Cowpuncher's Counting Book

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One Good Horse: A Cowpuncher's Counting Book
Ann Herbert Scott
Manufacturer: Greenwillow
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Ages 4-8 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

Wild West | Obsessions | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0688091466

Public sale: Having decided I won't do any farming, I will offer for sale at the John Heizer place one mile north of Fairfield, Thursday May 28, 1925 ... the following: 2 good work horses

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Public sale: Having decided I won't do any farming, I will offer for sale at the John Heizer place one mile north of Fairfield, Thursday May 28, 1925 ... the following: 2 good work horses
C. V Layman
Manufacturer: Batesville Printing Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0008CKWRG

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