The U.S. food system operates a lot like fast fashion, say Liz Carlisle and Aubrey Streit Krug. In their new book, Living Roots: The Promise of Perennial Foods, they explain that most crops—like the corn, wheat, rice, and soybeans that dominate the system—are annuals, in the ground for a single season. They are harvested by people working in less-than-ideal conditions; processed into cheap, low-quality products; and shipped out in high volume. All the while, their supply chains expend a tremendous amount of fossil fuels.

With the changing climate front of mind, Living Roots explores an alternate vision, one focused on the long game and built on perennials—plants that remain in the ground year after year. Edited by Carlisle and Streit Krug, the collection of 34 essays by Indigenous leaders, farmers, scientists, and chefs makes a case for centering perennial crops on our farms and in our diets.