Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) research scientist Ernest Small has been named winner of the Lane Anderson Award for Canadian Science Writing in the adult category for his book Top 100 Food Plants:  the World’s Most Important Culinary Crops. The $10,000 award was given out at a ceremony in Toronto on September 21st.

Top 100 Food Plants reviews scientific and technological information about the major food plants and their culinary uses. All categories of food plants are covered and information is provided on scientific and common names, appearance, history, economic and social importance and food uses, including practical information on storage and preparation.

 The book is intended to be a reference guide for specialists in agricultural areas, but gardeners, cooks, and those interested in human health as it relates to diet will also find this volume appealing because of the user-friendly presentation and the hundreds of attractive illustrations included.

“A massively-detailed and highly informative compilation of what we eat and its origins. Every Canadian should see this encyclopedic book.”  – Lane Anderson Award Jury.

Small, a scientist at AAFC’s Eastern Cereal and Oilseed Research Centre in Ottawa, is the author of 13 books and over 300 scientific publications on plants.

Top 100 Food Plants is published by the National Research Council of Canada (NRC): 

http://pubs.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/eng/books/books/9780660198583.html