Grain by Grain: Changing the Future of Food for a Bigger Purpose

Published by Island Press, Grain by Grain is available at Barnes & Noble, Amazon and local bookstores. Bob’s book tour dates can be found at: https://www.facebook.com/pg/bobquinnorganicfarmer/events/

Much has been said about food, and while changes are being made, there’s still a long way to go in recognizing the real consequences of using chemicals in our food systems. This is the inspiration behind the book Grain by Grain: A Quest to Revive Ancient Wheat, Rural Jobs, and Healthy Food, by Bob Quinn, who gifted us with his learnings from 32 years of working to create an alternative to the conundrum of industrial agriculture and industrial food production in the U.S.

In Bob’s view, the use of these mechanisms of food production has severe consequences to society, to the country, and to the planet. With his co-author Liz Carlisle, Bob shares the practical wisdom he has learned from a lifetime of farming, from the day he stopped trying to grow food “on the cheap” to his work creating his own renewable energy.

In Bob’s own quest to bring this book to life, he noted his discoveries about the health benefits of ancient wheat, and ultimately his incursions with organics, which turned into a multimillion-dollar heirloom grain company, Kamut International. He also discovered that through time-tested practices like cover cropping and crop rotation, he could produce successful yields—without pesticides. Regenerative organic farming allowed him to grow fruits and vegetables in cold, dry Montana without irrigation, providing a source of local produce to families in his hometown. He even started producing his own renewable energy. And he learned that a grain he first saw at the county fair in his youth was actually a type of ancient wheat, one that could be an answer to gluten sensitivity. 

Grain by Grain paves the way for a very needed evolution in our food and agriculture system, by adopting regenerative organic farming as the best way to build a sustainable 21st-century economy. The goal is to nourish the people of the world and heal the earth where we live in one generation. 

For anyone interested in the safety and quality of our food and protecting our planet, this book is a must read. It also reminds us that we can all make a difference, even if we add just none more organic purchase to our weekly shopping cart.