Who would’ve guessed that the next American revolution would be one fought over food? The Revolution Will Not Be Microwaved, a book written by Sandor Katz is about the underground food movements in America.

In the book, Sandor stresses the importance for an individual to take responsibility for their own health and nutrition. He talks about some of the underground food movements that he was able to infiltrate (like the revolution to sell raw milk, for example), and he even offers several healthy and nutritious recipes for people looking to change their eating habits. Some of you may be thinking, “A book about food and nutrition, BORING!” However, I assure you, while reading Katz’s book, boring will be the last word used in your vocabulary.

Now, I’m sure that many of you are wondering, “Food revolution? Why in the world would anyone need that?” Well, as it stands in this country, selling certain types of food is illegal. For example, in Sandor’s book, he explains that raw milk is illegal to sell in mostly all of America’s states. For milk to be sold, it must first go through the pasteurization process, a process that Sander explains to have the negative effect of eliminating important enzymes and nutrients.

The raw milk revolution, however, is only one small part of Sandor’s novel. He also talks about other food issues, such as the need to have food from local farms. According to Katz, local foods not only taste better, but are often higher in nutritional value, as well.

Want to know more about the food revolutions featured in Katz’s book? Read it! It may leave you thinking differently about what you think you know about nutrition and food. And for those of you who watch Science Friday, be sure to podcast August 10th’s show, Katz was featured as a special guest!

-Katrina Boston, Science Friday/TalkingScience summer intern