After a' brief survey of effective field theories, the linear u model is discussed as a prototype of an effective field theory of the standard model below the chiral symmetry breaking scale. Although it can serve as a toy model for the pion-nucleon interaction, the linear B model is not a realistic alternative to chiral perturbation theory. The heavy baryon approach to chiral perturbation theory allows for a systematic low-energy expansion of Green functions and amplitudes with baryons. The chiral invariant renormalization of the effective field theory for the pion-nucleon system to 0(p3) in the chiral expansion is reviewed.