DIET FOR A CHANGING CLIMATE

Providing sobering facts about our challenged planet, this book encourages young readers to rethink their food sources.

Warming temperatures, rising seas, vanishing species crowded out by invasive ones—these are just some of the challenges of climate change. With earnest enthusiasm this book invites young readers to educate themselves and believe they can make a difference—through a “focus on food.” Reviewing the link between human food production and climate change, the authors note that eating invasive plants and animals (like dandelions, kudzu, and iguanas) might help us limit use of damaging chemicals and fertilizers and rebalance the ecosystem. Similarly, consuming protein-rich, low carbon-impact bugs such as crickets and grubs reduces the harmful effects of raising livestock—and may soon be “cool” (after all, eating lobsters 200 years ago provoked the “ew” that sampling crickets gets today). In 10 chapters with plentiful color photographs and illustrations, the authors educate and encourage, offering observations, often posed as chapter title directives: “Exotic Pests Can Be Delicious” or “Expand Your Aquatic Menu.” Persuasive explanations and concrete actions readers can take are accompanied by recipes, apps for plant identification, instructions for growing your own edible mealworms, and a list of restaurants around the world that serve bugs.

An optimistic introduction for those who want to “take a bite out of climate change.” (source notes, glossary, bibliography, further information, index) (Nonfiction. 12-18)