Saying No To A Farm-free Future (the Case For An Ecological Food System And Against Manufactured Foods)

‘If you want real food, food security and a truly biodiverse countryside, please, please read this book.’ John Lewis-Stempel, author of Meadowland 

‘[A] timely response to those who are constructing a dystopia of farms without farmers, food without farms, while promoting more industrialisation of the food system.’ Vandana Shiva, activist and author of Terra Viva

‘Brilliant and compelling … at once hopeful and persuasive about the future of food.’ Dan Barber, chef at Blue Hill

Saying NO to a Farm-Free Future is a powerful and timely response to the ongoing search for our sustainable food future.

In the face of ongoing food, energy and environmental crises, Chris Smaje, farmer and social scientist, has become one of the most prescient voices on the future of farming. In his new book, he explores the false promises and unconsidered consequences of food techno-solutions advocated by ecomodernists like George Monbiot, arguing that we should not divorce ourselves from rural living and must embrace a future that includes farming.

Saying NO to a Farm-Free Future passionately argues for scaling up the pro-nature principles of low-energy, biodiverse and agroecological farming, and for putting the power back into the hands of small-scale farmers and producers, and the local communities that support them.

‘A case for a rural agricultural landscape that delivers food without wrecking the planet’. Jake Fiennes, author of Land Healer

‘Everyone in the food business needs to read this … lively and superbly written polemic.’ Joel Salatin, co-founder of Polyface Farm

''We are heading to hell in a techcart driven by the unlikely twins of Extremist Rewilding and Big Food; if we don''t pull on the brakes sharpish, our countryside will be reduced to a monoculture of lynxy scrub and our food grown in vats. If you want real food, food security and a truly biodiverse countryside, please, please read this book.'' John Lewis-Stempel, author of Meadowland 

''A thought-provoking, intelligent response to George Monbiot’s Regenesis. As the author remarks, this is a provocation to thought rather than a summation of the truth. Setting out the principles of good agriculture that can have benefits to people, land and nature. A case for a rural agricultural landscape that delivers food without wrecking the planet. Agrarian localism as an alternative that may succeed given present challenges on alternative land use.'' Jake Fiennes, author of Land Healer

''Chris Smaje’s Saying NO to a Farm-Free Future is a timely response to those who are constructing a dystopia of farms without farmers, food without farms, while promoting more industrialisation of the food system. Farming with care on a small scale is the path of ecological regeneration and returning to the earth. Thank you, Chris, for writing this important book for all of us.'' Vandana Shiva, activist and author of Terra Viva

''Chris Smaje has laid down an indictment – as unremitting as it is undeniable – that cuts through the jargon-filled, techno-worshipping agricultural futurists who promise silver-bullet fixes for having your cake and eating it too. This brilliant and compelling book is at once hopeful and persuasive about the future of food.'' Dan Barber, chef at Blue Hill and author of The Third Plate

''Everyone in the food business needs to read this book. If you