2010 Book #2: Animal, Vegetable, Miracle

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life by Barbara Kingsolver

This is a book I simply did not want to end.

Having never read anything by Barbara Kingsolver, I didn't know what to expect. Each time I've mentioned that I was reading this book, someone would exclaim their love for her writing or this book in general. I was a skeptic. Did I really want to read about her family's gardening adventure? Did I care to read 400 pages about vegetables? It turns out, I did!

This book documents the adventures of Barbara Kingsolver, her husband, and their two girls, as they commit to eating only locally grown food for a year. Her writing interweaves unbelievable statistics, hilarious tales of farming adventures, and deep questions about how the food we choose to place on our table now will impact the next generation. Camille, Barbara's oldest daughter, documents the teenager's perspective after each chapter. She shares recipes and how this experience impacted the family.

I consumed this book in about a week; reading whenever my schedule would allow. You know it is a good book if I can't go to bed and just keep on reading long after Cliff is asleep. (He is gracious enough to let me keep the bedside lamp on and read in bed.)

For gardener, skeptic, and locavore alike, I'd recommend this book wholeheartedly. I hope it will cause you to think more deeply about the food choices you make; it certainly did that for me. What are you supporting with your dollar?

My action items after reading this book:

• A renewed commitment to growing our own food (We're getting this year's garden plans together now.)
• Learn how to can, in order to preserve the food we grow (I just took a class last weekend!)
• Learn how to make my own cheese
• Shop regularly for produce at our local farmer's market and/or continue our organic produce delivery
• Keep trying to talk Cliff in to letting me raise chickens (not having much luck)
• Buy only grass fed, organic meat and poultry (probably at our local farmer's market)
• Continue to learn and educate myself about how the choices I make in the grocery store affect our health, the health of our planet, and our local economy

Currently Reading: Womanly Dominion: More than a Gentle and Quiet Spirit (by Mark Chanski)