Animal, Vegetable, Miracle

I've been wanting to blog about this book for some time now and finally had a bit of free time tonight! Last fall when my friend Jenny visited me from Indiana she had this book with her. She told me about it and I was semi interested at the time...she really seemed to think there were some important messages in this book about sustainable foods and recommended I read it.


I actually kinda forgot about it until recently when my sister posted a comment about Kingsolver's interactive Vegetannual site and her other books, particularly, The Poisonwood Bible. After reading Jill's post, I decided to check this Animal, Vegetable, Miracle book out for myself.

Kingsolver and her family (husband and older daughter) co-wrote a book about a year of food life. She and her family "abandoned the industrial-food pipeline to live a rural life-vowing that, for one year, they'd only buy food raised in their own neighborhood, grow it themselves, or learn to live without it." The book is part memoir, part journalistic investigation. It really has opened my eyes to the old truth: You are what you eat.

It seems as Americans we want what we want when we want it. Take strawberries for example. It's sad how demanding we are for strawberries in the middle of winter. I live in central Pennsylvania and strawberries are only in season from mid June-late July (if blessed with a good crop). Do we even realize all the fossil fuels we are using up by having those, not so fresh, or ripe strawberries delivered to our local grocery store?

Normally I make my usual trip to the farmers' market (on Tuesday's to be exact) and get what I need for the week. But I never really thought about where it was coming from. When I asked these "local" farmers' market vendors where their produce was coming from, most of them said, Maryland or from other outlining states. Not local. They did reassure me that in the summer more of the produce was local. It's important to ask where our food is coming from. It's ok to ask questions.

So I started thinking. Why don't we just buy from our local farmer and eat what is in season? Yes, we may have to sacrifice what we really want but it's SO much better for our environment, economy, and health to buy locally grown foods that are sustainable. This book has challenged my impulsive, selfish eating patterns that I have so grown accustomed to.

I hope our little family can make a difference in the world by deliberately eating food produced from the same place where we work, where we live, and breathe.

I thank the Lord for compelling me to read this book. Even with small changes, I hope to bring glory to Him by being a better steward of what's He's given this Earth to help sustain us...even though we're only passing through...