After wading through countless books related to food, health and sustainability during my university years, Fair Food has got to be one of my favorites. It is written by Dr. Oran Hesterman who has a PhD in agronomy, which gives him a solid foundation on which to build his argument and gives much-needed credibility to something that may seem like a fad to many people. The 214 pages (excluding resources) are put to excellent use by immediately convincing the reader that the food system is broken, vividly showing what a healthy food system looks like, and then giving the reader countless opportunities and ideas to help bring that food system into being. Hesterman never sounds like a rouge hippy out to make vegans of everyone, nor does he just mildly encourage his readers to eat local foods and assure them that that is all it takes to fix the problem. Through sound science, living examples, and active solutions, Hesterman makes a sustainable food system seem realistically accessible to everyone.

Though the title may lead some to think Hesterman’s main concern is social justice in the food system, it is apparent that he is equally passionate about creating a healthy environment and economy as well. The four principles he believes to be most crucial to a sustainable food system are equity, diversity, ecological integrity and economic viability. While it seems that he has forgotten about health and nutrition, it is woven into the other four principles and is often the focus of his arguments. This encompassing perspective of the food system makes the book stand out among the many works that focus solely on one issue.

What I particularly appreciated about Fair Food is that the Hesterman acknowledged that low-income individuals or those who are unfortunate enough to live in food deserts are not less intelligent when it comes to food than the wealthy, organic-eating class. Most families who do not have access to fresh produce and healthy food dearly wish they could access it. Often this segment of the population is portrayed as believing McDonald’s French fries are a vegetable and other such nonsense. While a child who grew up in the inner-city may need to have broccoli explained to them simply because they have never seen it before, they are just as eager to eat healthy food as the rest of us. Hesterman focuses on ways to make healthy food accessible to the underserved, as this is an integral part of a sustainable food system.

Another place where this book stands out is in the connection that is clearly drawn between what individuals do and believe personally and their involvement as active citizens. Too often individuals eat local or organic foods and then neglect to get involved in programs and policies that would make these foods more accessible to the rest of their community. Hesterman provides many excellent ideas about how individuals can put their values to action. My favorite example is beginning or getting involved in a food policy council at a local or state level. The necessity of a council like that is growing, as the need for organization among members from all parts of the food system is essential to making the food system sustainable. If that idea does not appeal to you, there are fifty pages of resources in the last chapter that are sure to spark other ideas.

I also appreciated that Hesterman acknowledges the tendency of the fair food movement to be more liberal politically, and that he presents his ideas and suggestions to his readers knowing he will have a bipartisan audience. The sad thing about movements like sustainable food is the way they tend to become attached to one political party’s ideology when in reality a sustainable food system is something that would benefit everyone, no matter their political leanings. Demonstrating that there are solutions both sides can champion, Hesterman makes sustainability seem patriotic rather than partisan.

Fair Food does a masterful job of incorporating all aspects of the food system into the discussion. However, the book falls short when it fails to extend that same systems mindset beyond the food system. The food system is just a small part of a much larger system when it comes to public policy, and though the Farm Bill was given admirable coverage, attention should also be given to small business policy, health policy and urban development policy if the shift towards sustainable food is truly going to be system wide.

For anyone looking for a well-informed description of sustainable food systems, Fair Food has my recommendation. What I learned during four years of studying sustainable food systems, Hesterman has nicely summarized in this work. It is not often you can find the motivation to mobilize people on a cause combined with the excellent story telling present here, with the credentials to back it all up. If Fair Food does not convince you to get involved in your food system, I don’t know what will. ( )