Feed Us with Trees

A new and ancient story about perennial nut trees, our ecological role as humans, and the future of food The day Elspeth Hay learned that we can eat acorns, stories shed believed her whole life began to unravel. Until then she'd always believed we must grow our staple foods in farmed fieldsthe same fields wreaking havoc on our land, air, and water. But all over the Northern Hemisphere, Hay learned, humans once grew our staple foods in forest gardens centered on perennial nut trees: oaks, chestnuts, and hazelnuts. In Feed Us with Trees, Hay brings us along as she gets to know dozens of nut growers, scientists, Indigenous knowledge-keepers, researchers, and food professionalsand discovers that in tending these staple trees, we once played a vital environmental role as one of Earths keystone species. Feed Us with Trees is Hays hopeful manifesto about a brighter, more abundant futureand a critical look at the long-held stories well need to rewrite to build it. It will appeal to environmentalists, regenerative farmers, permaculture enthusiasts, agroforesters, locavores, and anyone hungry for a more holistic, nutrient-dense diet rooted in wild foods and ancient knowledge.