By Donovan’s Literary Services
Other Avenues are Possible: Legacy of the People’s Food System of the San Francisco Bay Area could have been featured in a column covering social issues or movements; but is reviewed here because anyone with an interest in food distribution systems should know about this history of the rise and fall of the San Francisco People’s Food System during the 1970s.
With a blend of Bay Area and natural food movement history, this book uses new interviews, historical research, and Shanta Nimbark Sacharoff’s own experience as a co-op member to chart the social movement which fostered the natural foods movement.
The People’s Food System successfully and aggressively challenged consumers and marketers to rethink agribusiness and supermarkets, and created a series of food co-ops that combined political consciousness-raising with new ideas of how to grow and distribute healthy foods.
From restructuring and financial concerns to community involvement in food management, Other Avenues are Possible is especially eye-opening because it comes not from a historian or reporter, but from a participant who was part of the movement from its early days, making this a very highly recommended survey for any interested in the politics and culture of food.
