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4.1 AVERAGE
4.1 AVERAGE
First of all I want to say that I was really excited to read this book because of the content. My family and I have been trying to curtail our environmental impact by eating more locally grown foods as well as stuff we grow ourselves. I did not need to be converted to doing things more local because I was already a believer. And maybe that is the problem. I had such high hopes for this book because of the content, and because it was written by Barbara Kingsolver, who has been declared a great American author. But I was not impressed.
One of the things that really struck me was how condescending Kingsolver came off through the entire book. You don’t cook? Well why on earth don’t you? It is sooo enjoyable! This was the mindset that Kingsolver took towards cooking, and she never once stood to consider that people, for a variety of reason, might not want to cook, or even enjoy it like she does. Her daughter Camille does seem to point this out in the epilogue of the 10th anniversary edition, but by that point the reader has already been made to feel like a failure for not cooking for their family like Kingsolver does.
Another point where Kingsolver comes across as condescending is the fact that she had 40 acres to try her “experiment” and most people do not have that luxury. She talks about how those people should buy from the local farmer’s market and stock up so they don’t have to buy out of season produce when the farmer’s market is not open. Great idea! But what about the people who can not afford tho buy from the farmer’s market? While there are many states that are allowing people to use their food aid for farmer’s markets, not every farmer or farmer’s market accepts it, and again many do not even know that they have that capability. What are those people supposed to do? Starve?
Then there is the vegetarian/vegan thing. Kingsolver seems to think that if vegetarians and vegans would just try local pasture raised meat they would go back to eating meat again, and she can say that because she used to be vegetarian. But some people are not vegetarians for just environmental impact, they have all sorts of other reasons, one being religion. Besides if a person chooses to eat that way because they believe that it will be better for the environment, and they only buy organic items for the grocery store (providing they can afford it) then how is that a bad thing? But it is for Kingsolver.
These are just some of the ways that Kingsolver comes across as condescending towards various people who do not seem to jive with her way of living. And while I get that this is a memoir, and that it supposed to elaborate on their family’s experiment of eating locally, it was hard to get past all the negativity directed at people who are not of the same mindset as her family. I think that book tried to hard to convert people to eating locally, and while I think that it is important, and definitely more environmentally friendly, I think there was a better way to do it without making other people feel inadequate for not living exactly like Kingsolver and her family.
One of the things that really struck me was how condescending Kingsolver came off through the entire book. You don’t cook? Well why on earth don’t you? It is sooo enjoyable! This was the mindset that Kingsolver took towards cooking, and she never once stood to consider that people, for a variety of reason, might not want to cook, or even enjoy it like she does. Her daughter Camille does seem to point this out in the epilogue of the 10th anniversary edition, but by that point the reader has already been made to feel like a failure for not cooking for their family like Kingsolver does.
Another point where Kingsolver comes across as condescending is the fact that she had 40 acres to try her “experiment” and most people do not have that luxury. She talks about how those people should buy from the local farmer’s market and stock up so they don’t have to buy out of season produce when the farmer’s market is not open. Great idea! But what about the people who can not afford tho buy from the farmer’s market? While there are many states that are allowing people to use their food aid for farmer’s markets, not every farmer or farmer’s market accepts it, and again many do not even know that they have that capability. What are those people supposed to do? Starve?
Then there is the vegetarian/vegan thing. Kingsolver seems to think that if vegetarians and vegans would just try local pasture raised meat they would go back to eating meat again, and she can say that because she used to be vegetarian. But some people are not vegetarians for just environmental impact, they have all sorts of other reasons, one being religion. Besides if a person chooses to eat that way because they believe that it will be better for the environment, and they only buy organic items for the grocery store (providing they can afford it) then how is that a bad thing? But it is for Kingsolver.
These are just some of the ways that Kingsolver comes across as condescending towards various people who do not seem to jive with her way of living. And while I get that this is a memoir, and that it supposed to elaborate on their family’s experiment of eating locally, it was hard to get past all the negativity directed at people who are not of the same mindset as her family. I think that book tried to hard to convert people to eating locally, and while I think that it is important, and definitely more environmentally friendly, I think there was a better way to do it without making other people feel inadequate for not living exactly like Kingsolver and her family.
I listened to the audiobook version of this, which was read by Barbara Kingsolver herself. She is a wonderful storyteller, and I didn't want to get out of my car much of the time. I went onto the website and printed out many of the recipes that were described. I look forward to trying them! My only regret is I don't have a big yard for a garden, so most of my ingredients will have to come from the farmer's market.
I started this book about five times . . . at least. But I finally got into it and finished! I really enjoyed it. This is a subject that is near to my heart, and I thought Barbara Kingsolver did a great job of presenting her family's experience of eating locally and growing their own food. I was happy to read the included recipes at the end of each chapter, too. I remember being a bit tired of the politically opinionated preachy-ness at the beginning, but either I got used to it, or the authors toned it down, because it stopped bothering me soon into the book. There is a lot of truth to the ideas Kingsolver brings up in her narrative. I think it would do us all some good to become more connected to the food we eat, each in its own season and proper place in our diet.
Interesting content but the main author occasionally comes across as kinda preachy.
I’m also starting to develop the opinion that authors shouldn’t read their own books as audiobooks (unless the author is also a trained actor) as it seems a disservice to the text.
I’m also starting to develop the opinion that authors shouldn’t read their own books as audiobooks (unless the author is also a trained actor) as it seems a disservice to the text.
This book was recommended to me by a friend after we were discussing eating healthy and shopping the farmer's market.
At the beginning of Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, there are various statistics and facts that were absolutely mind-boggling to me. Did you know that if every American ate ONE completely local meal a week, we would save an estimated 11 MILLION barrels of oil every week? That statistic alone really grabbed me.
After the introduction, it is a food journal of sorts. It chronicles the Kingsolver family as they make a pledge to eat only what they raise/grow or can purchase locally for an entire year. They give tips on planting, harvesting and cooking. Much of the focus is on eating with the seasons. Barbara wrote most of it with inserts written by her husband (action items- focus on how to make changes in your community) and her college age daughter (recipes).
It's definitely a pledge I could get behind. Oftentimes, our food is shipped so far and covered with so many chemicals, I start to wonder how good produce from the grocery store actually is for me.
After reading this book, I made a personal pledge to be more knowledgable about where my food comes from.
Even if you don't decide to change your eating habits, it was a very interesting book full of very tasty recipes and ideas on how you can make an effort to help out your local community.
At the beginning of Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, there are various statistics and facts that were absolutely mind-boggling to me. Did you know that if every American ate ONE completely local meal a week, we would save an estimated 11 MILLION barrels of oil every week? That statistic alone really grabbed me.
After the introduction, it is a food journal of sorts. It chronicles the Kingsolver family as they make a pledge to eat only what they raise/grow or can purchase locally for an entire year. They give tips on planting, harvesting and cooking. Much of the focus is on eating with the seasons. Barbara wrote most of it with inserts written by her husband (action items- focus on how to make changes in your community) and her college age daughter (recipes).
It's definitely a pledge I could get behind. Oftentimes, our food is shipped so far and covered with so many chemicals, I start to wonder how good produce from the grocery store actually is for me.
After reading this book, I made a personal pledge to be more knowledgable about where my food comes from.
Even if you don't decide to change your eating habits, it was a very interesting book full of very tasty recipes and ideas on how you can make an effort to help out your local community.
This book motivated me back to the farmer's markets, and I read the turkey sex chapter out loud to my husband, or at least I tried to through my tears of laughter.
Wow. Just wow. I loved this book. The writing was beatiful, multi-layered. The pace was slow, in keeping with the subject matter of the book. I didn't want it to end. And now I want turkeys. I will certainly be reading more Kingsolver after this.
I didn't finish it for two reasons:
1. Sent me into a panic about the threat to our food supply by industrial farming and corporations like the evil Monsanto. I could never do what she and her family did, eating only local foods. And is that so bad? Maybe not, but now I feel dreadful for having a lemon in my refrigerator.
2. I listened to the audiobook, narrated by the author and her family. She has a pleasant voice, but speaks quite slowly. The audiobook is approximately 6 days long. I checked the book out from the library once, and I swear it was a normal length, but this is the longest audiobook in my collection right now. I don't have that kind of time.
1. Sent me into a panic about the threat to our food supply by industrial farming and corporations like the evil Monsanto. I could never do what she and her family did, eating only local foods. And is that so bad? Maybe not, but now I feel dreadful for having a lemon in my refrigerator.
2. I listened to the audiobook, narrated by the author and her family. She has a pleasant voice, but speaks quite slowly. The audiobook is approximately 6 days long. I checked the book out from the library once, and I swear it was a normal length, but this is the longest audiobook in my collection right now. I don't have that kind of time.
This is a family memoir of how Kingsolver and her husband and two daughters moved to Virginia and in their second year began eating almost exclusively locally. Her family grows a garden, raises chickens and turkeys for meat and for eggs, and buys most of what they don't grow themselves at the farmers market.
I love the joyfulness and good humor with which this story is told. The youngest daughter, Lily, is passionate about chickens, and I adored the part about her egg business. I appreciated the personal stories of cooking, canning, visiting their Amish friends, and the elder daughter's recipes and essays. Woven into this is a lot of information about big organics, "conventional" agriculture, factory farmed meat, and the effects our eating habits have on climate change.
In some ways this book reminds me of The Omnivore's Dilemma, but I find myself less depressed by it. Pollan's book made me feel it was hopeless to try to extricate myself from ways of living that are so in conflict with my values. Kingsolver and family, on the other hand, manage to live a life that, while not pure- nor trying to be, is much closer to those ideals.
I love the joyfulness and good humor with which this story is told. The youngest daughter, Lily, is passionate about chickens, and I adored the part about her egg business. I appreciated the personal stories of cooking, canning, visiting their Amish friends, and the elder daughter's recipes and essays. Woven into this is a lot of information about big organics, "conventional" agriculture, factory farmed meat, and the effects our eating habits have on climate change.
In some ways this book reminds me of The Omnivore's Dilemma, but I find myself less depressed by it. Pollan's book made me feel it was hopeless to try to extricate myself from ways of living that are so in conflict with my values. Kingsolver and family, on the other hand, manage to live a life that, while not pure- nor trying to be, is much closer to those ideals.
This book has made me change my lifestyle and mindset more than any other since Fast Food Nation. Kingsolver, a fantastic writer and fellow biologist, chronicles the year in which her family moved to a farm and set out to eat only that which they could grow themselves or buy from local farms. She explains in great detail how this practice is better for the environment and local economies, and leads to a more healthful way of life in general. It is full of funny stories about raising poultry, examples of failures and slipups, and recipe ideas for eating seasonally. It has inspired me to eat local and organic as much as possible and to keep up with my self-imposed non-organic meat ban. An entertaining and inspiring read.