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Diet for a Sustainable Ecosystem

The Science for Recovering the Health of the Chesapeake Bay and its People

  • Brings to life a story of the Chesapeake Bay as a case study readily applicable to other ecosystems where the food system has damaged the health of the environment and its people
  • Combines historical ecology, human history, economics, ethics, climate change studies, nutrition science and aquatic science to construct a cohesive narrative for understanding the intersection of environmental sustainability and human health
  • Constructs a virtual timeline of the Chesapeake Bay and its food system that extends from the distant geological past to the challenging future of an Earth undergoing rapid climate change
  • Presents the science that enables readers to see the consequences of their dietary choices for their own health and that of the environment
  • Documents the consequences of both the Standard American Diet, and the industrialized chemical agriculture that supports it

Part of the book series: Estuaries of the World (EOTW)

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Table of contents (21 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xiv
  2. Introduction and Background

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1
    2. The Bay and Its Watershed: A Voyage Back in Time

      • Benjamin E. Cuker
      Pages 17-30
  3. Foundations of the Chesapeake Bay Food System and the Consequences of Over-Extraction

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 53-53
    2. A Fishing Trip: Exploiting and Managing the Commons of the Chesapeake Bay

      • Benjamin E. Cuker, Matthew Balazik
      Pages 67-94
    3. The Chesapeake Bay Oyster: Cobblestone to Keystone

      • Kimberly S. Reece, Eugene M. Burreson, Deidre M. Gibson, Sierra S. Hildebrandt, Ileana Fenwick
      Pages 127-153
  4. Industrial-Chemical Agriculture Reshapes the Bay’s Ecosystem

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 175-175
    2. Pesticides Bring the War on Nature to the Chesapeake Bay

      • Benjamin E. Cuker, Indu Sharma, Kendra Dorsey, Olivera Stojilovic, Nefertiti Smith, Andrew Justice
      Pages 199-217
  5. Consequences of and Alternatives to the Standard American Diet: Human and Ecosystem Health

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 245-245
    2. Sugar Twice Enslaves: Consequences for the People of the Chesapeake Bay

      • Benjamin E. Cuker, Michelle Penn-Marshall
      Pages 269-286

About this book

This book explores a specific ecosystem in depth, in order to weave a story built on place and history. It incorporates the theme of a journey to help reveal the environment-human-health-food system-problem. While drawing on a historical approach stretching back to the American colonial era, it also incorporates more contemporary scientific findings. By crafting its story around a specific place, the book makes it easier for readers to relate to the content, and to subsequently use what they learn to better understand the role of food systems at the global scale.

Editors and Affiliations

  • Department of Marine and Environmental Science, Hampton University, Hampton, USA

    Benjamin E. Cuker

About the editor

Prof. Benjamin Cuker has studied arctic lakes, southern ponds and the Chesapeake Bay.  His work on diversifying the aquatic science community garnered him a Pew Fellowship in Marine Conservation (1999) and awards from the Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography (1993, 2009).  Having been a Professor of Marine and Environmental Science at Hampton University since 1988, he also knows the Chesapeake well as a cruising and racing sailor who won the “Down The Bay” race in 2014 and 2015.

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Diet for a Sustainable Ecosystem

  • Book Subtitle: The Science for Recovering the Health of the Chesapeake Bay and its People

  • Editors: Benjamin E. Cuker

  • Series Title: Estuaries of the World

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-45481-4

  • Publisher: Springer Cham

  • eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life Sciences, Biomedical and Life Sciences (R0)

  • Copyright Information: Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-030-45480-7Published: 11 August 2020

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-3-030-45483-8Published: 12 August 2021

  • eBook ISBN: 978-3-030-45481-4Published: 10 August 2020

  • Series ISSN: 2214-1553

  • Series E-ISSN: 2214-1561

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XIV, 430

  • Number of Illustrations: 42 b/w illustrations, 198 illustrations in colour

  • Topics: Conservation Biology/Ecology, Animal Ecology, Biodiversity, Food Science

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 169.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access