The future of our food depends on tiny seeds in orchards and fields the world over. In 1943, one of the first to recognize this fact, the great botanist Nikolay Vavilov, lay dying of starvation in a Soviet prison. But in the years before Stalin jailed him as a scapegoat for the country's famines, Vavilov had traveled over five continents, collecting hundreds of thousands of seeds in an effort to outline the ancient centers of agricultural diversity and guard against widespread hunger. Now, another remarkable scientist—and vivid storyteller—has retraced his footsteps.

In Where Our Food Comes From , Gary weaves together Vavilov's extraordinary story with his own expeditions to Earth's richest agricultural landscapes and the cultures that tend them.

Lets find out more about the book, and the official website.

...more about where our food comes from

Thanksgiving and the Food Crisis
By Gary Paul Nabhan
11/26/08

It is an ironic time to be celebrating Thanksgiving, a sharing of the bounty of American farms and ranches among family, friends and neighbors. Not only are our traditional foods a fading feast, but fewer Americans than ever before may be able to access them. This year, while a million Americans may be losing their jobs, food prices have risen 5 to 7 percent; the use of food banks and food stamps is at a record high. The outlook for coming year is even more sobering: in August, the 2009 food prices projected to rise just 4.5 percent, but by early November, that projection was revised to go as a high as 7 percent. In short, more Americans may have meager feasts during Thanksgiving and the winter holidays than at any time since the Dust Bowl.

It is not that America is failing to produce food supplies sufficient to feed its populace; instead, we are feeding our vehicles foodstuffs that we should reserve for feeding our neighbors.

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