Five important books on famines and world hunger, on Ebola and other deadly epidemics that spread from animals to people, and on the pesticide poisons in our food.

Ecosocialist Bookshelf is an occasional feature. We can’t review every book we receive, but we will list and link to any that seem relevant to Climate & Capitalism’s mission, along with brief descriptions. Titles listed here may be reviewed in future.

Please note: Inclusion of a book does not imply endorsement, or that we agree with everything (or even anything!) the book says.

MASS STARVATION

The History and Future of Famine

by Alex de Waal

Polity Books, 2017

An authoritative history of modern famines: their causes, dimensions and why they ended. De Waal analyses starvation as a crime, and breaks new ground in examining forced starvation as an instrument of genocide and war. Refuting the enduring but erroneous view that attributes famine to overpopulation and natural disaster, he shows how political decision or political failing is an essential element in every famine.

BEGINNING TO END HUNGER

Food and the Environment in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, and Beyond

by M. Jahi Chappell

University of California Press, 2018

Belo Horizonte is home to 2.5 million people and the site of one of the world’s most successful food security programs. Since 1993, it has sharply reduced malnutrition, leading it to serve as an inspiration for Brazil’s Zero Hunger programs. The secretariat’s work with local family farmers shows how food security, rural livelihoods, and healthy ecosystems can be supported together.

SPILLOVER

Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic

by David Quammen

W.W. Norton, 2012

Ebola, SARS, Hendra, AIDS, and countless other deadly viruses all have one thing in common: the bugs that transmit these diseases all originate in wild animals and pass to humans by a process called spillover. David Quammen takes the reader along on a quest to learn how, where from, and why these diseases emerge and asks the terrifying question: What might the next big one be?

EBOLA

How a People’s Science Helped End an Epidemic

by Paul Richards

Zed Books, 2016

Paul Richards argues that the international community’s panicky response to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa failed to take account of local expertise and common sense. He says the humanitarian response to the disease was most effective in those areas where it supported these initiatives and that it hampered recovery when it ignored or disregarded local knowledge.

POISONING OUR CHILDREN

The Parent’s Guide to the Myths of Safe Pesticides

by Andre Leu

Acres USA, 2018

Pesticide residues are found in 77 percent of all foods in the United States, so it’s important to know what science says about their safety. Organic agriculturist André Leu has weeded through a wealth of respected scientific journals to present peer-reviewed evidence proving that the claims of chemical companies and pesticide regulators are not all they seem.