Monday, March 21, 2011

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle Chapters 13-16

It’s August and Barbara Kingsolver and family are drowning in tomatoes. But not the kind of tomatoes that we usually buy from the grocery store—the ones she describes as “slightly sour water with a mealy texture”—but meaty, heirloom tomatoes. After eating a salad made out of avocado and our friend’s farm’s tomatoes (recipe here—P.S. don’t even try to make it with grocery store tomatoes…it will NOT work) I was a convert. At Thanksgiving almost everything on our table contained meat, so I ate a tomato sandwich. Made out of an heirloom tomato that my uncle had grown. Grow your own tomatoes!
And how cool would it be to make and can your own tomato sauce? Way cooler than making and canning your own apple butter (I am still not exactly sure what this is and the name gives no hints. I guess it’s like a spread..?) which was what I was forced to do by my mother a couple years ago after our lovely neighbors gave us a paper grocery bag full of apples they picked. And making and canning the apple butter was actually not all that bad compared to eating the apple butter. My mother had to hand out jars as gifts. So moral of the story: before you put a lot of work into canning, actually pick something you like.

Chapter 16 is in the same tone of 13: still harvesting, different plants. Kingsolver makes a great suggestion to buy a fresh pumpkin instead of canned pumpkin for baking needs. Or you could go the extra mile and grow pumpkins. Two summers ago I attempted to grow pumpkins and ended up growing a single pumpkin. The pumpkin was supposed to be of the variety of giant pumpkin and ended up being diminutive and quite watery, but I still carved it and put it on my porch.

So the title of chapter 14 is “You Can’t Run Away on Harvest Day” which features a picture of a axe stuck in a stump. Yeah. I thought was alluding to the amount of work that was required to pick all of the vegetables. Nope. They are killing their animals. The eerie way Kingsolver set up the scene scared me. Like I almost expected Hannibal Lector to appear and say, “Tell me Clarice—have the lambs stopped screaming?”. She illustrates the fact that killing animals occurs indirectly because of all farming—pesticides poisoning animals, To a Mouse situations where animals lose their homes or even lives to planting—which I believe is a somewhat valid point. She spends a lot of time trying to condone pasture-raised animal deaths by explaining how much freedom they have and how great their life is, but really it made me feel better about my decision to not eat meat. I feel like she tries to make the killing sound humane, but her joke about chicken feathers clinging everywhere after the butchering was not really funny.

I really liked chapter 15 because it pretty much carried the message that food is not that important to Americans, the very idea we have been trying to change all year. Think of the American genre of food: burgers and fries? We don’t really have to put much thought into that. Everywhere else it seems that food is still an art.

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle (Chapters 9-12)

How could a book about organic and local food possibly be interesting? I asked myself this question several times while staring at the cover of Animal, Vegetable, Miracle before finally starting it. Surprisingly I found it interesting, funny, and easy to read! Barbara Kingsolver's sense of humor made me laugh out loud which got me a lot of weird looks from people around me.
Kingsolver also offers some seriously good insight on why Americans eat the way we do now. One thing she got me thinking about was the role of women in the equation. As we know, fast food and frozen meals are often turned to because families don't have enough time or energy to make an extravagant home-cooked dinner every night. Kingsolver explains that this change is due to women getting jobs. She blames her generation for turning away from the homemaker role and taking on more serious and time-consuming careers. In many households now the mother works as much as the father, and at the end of the day both are too tired to think about making dinner and no one else is there to fill the role. It is much easier to just order in or pick something up on the way home. She's not saying that families and their health are falling apart because of women, just that we are losing touch with "the art of cooking."
I think the most interesting part of the whole book is the section when she talks about dairy and our relationship with it. Most animals stop drinking milk once their are grown, but we continue to do so despite the fact that most Americans are lactose intolerant (even if they don't know it). One item that Kingsolver discusses really caught my attention: cheese. I never knew or even imagined that someone could make cheese in their own home! Despite the plastic wrapping in the grocery store, I didn't think of cheese as a processed food, after all it's on the safe outer edges away from the aisles of junk food. Kingsolver learns how to make her own cheese which she claims can actually be made faster than a cobbler. I think it's amazing how easy it is to make, but it seems to be so uncommon in society today.
In another chapter, Kingsolver visits her Amish friends at their farm. They produce all of their own food and only have to purchase flour and sugar from town, and occasionally pretzels as a treat. I really respect the family and their distance from the endless unnatural foods produced. Kingsolver also talks about how it's nearly impossible for local farmers to sell dairy products because of strict regulations. She believes that this is a way to eliminate small farms as competition to the large corporations who dominate the market.
Kingsolver's exploration into the food industry was insightful and entertaining. I learned a lot from her experiences and thought about things that I never have thought about before. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle is a book filled with countless interesting facts and stories. I enjoyed reading it, and I think anyone would get something out of it. I've learned not to judge food books so harshly because this was a really good one! Make sure you check it out :)
-Melissa

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Wow.


I’m not going to lie. When I first when to the library to checkout Animal Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver, I was thinking, “Wow, this is honestly, going to be the worst book I have ever read.” I admit I probably had the worst attitude in the world about this book, but it was one of the funniest books I have ever read. I’ve always wanted to live on a farm, grow my own vegetables, raise animals, and have the whole experience, but she made me realize how much work it really is. I just got done with the book and I’m still in shock on how she changed my whole opinion of the book around. She isn’t just an author; she is funny, really funny. I couldn’t help but laugh at all of her jokes. She intertwines the story of her and her family with comical jokes, and recipes. I loved it! My favorite part was in chapter 16, Smashing Pumpkins. I absolutely adored the story about her and her dad’s battle with the pumpkin!

I might just have to renew Animal, Vegetable, Miracle and read it again. I strongly advise all of those who have not read the book to read it. It may sound like the worst book in the world, but it’s actually a wonderful, comical story that everyone should read!

-Skye Sheffield


Animal, Vegetable, Miracle (Chapters 5-8)

I absolutely love this book! Barbara Kingsolver does an amazing job at balancing real life experiences with valuable information about the food people eat every day.

One of the most remarkable things in my opinion was the information Kingsolver presented about the tobacco industry. I had no idea that so many people relied on this industry. Farming tobacco helps many people put their children through school, make house payments, and pay numerous bills. The tobacco farmers don't always smoke, and they don't always support smoking, but it's their way of life. If the tobacco industry was to collapse one day, they would have absolutely nothing to rely on. Tobacco farming is their life. Although many people look at the tobacco industry as a bad thing, Kingsolver made me see a brand new side of it. This book didn't make me want to go out and buy a pack of cigarettes, and it definitely didn't make me a supporter of smoking, but it made me realize just how important this industry is.

The chapter "The Birds and the Bees" presented a lot of the information that we have been discussing this semester about the treatment of animals. Its nice to see that while so many factories don't care about the treatment of animals, some people are still trying their best to treat animals the right way. Lily is such an inspiring person, and she makes me want to go buy some chicks!

Another part of these chapters that I enjoyed was the recipes. My favorite was the Chicken Recuerdos de Tucon, a fresh, southwestern chicken dish.

Overall, I loved this informative book! It is definitely a must-read.

-Claire

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Eat Local, Think Local, Be Local


This video is not the best quality; however, it does give really good information about our food. I thought it was really interesting and thought that you guys might think the same. (Plus, I liked the music.) :)



I also found this video called " How to buy organic local foods to reduce the food mile." It tells you how to buy local organic foods three ways. This one is better quality, but doesn't have good music. :/ Regardless of this sad fact, it was extremely informative and made me feel accomplished. The first way they mention to find local organic food I already posted about! :)

-Skye Sheffield

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Carlton Farms

Hey everyone! Whenever you go on a roaptrip down to Florida or go visit your grandparents in a rural part of Georgia, you always pass scenic fields of cows. Do you ever wonder how they're being used?
This question inspired me to do some research on farms in Georgia. I stumbled upon the website of Carlton Farms in Rockmart, Georgia. This local farm delivers free-range eggs, grass-fed beef, and organic vegetables to multiple locations in Georgia. All you have to do is fill out an order form then go pick up your produce on the delivery day! They also have school field trips avaliable to visit their farm :)

Next time you go to the grocery store think about where your milk, eggs, and meat came from. If you don't know the answer to that then consider ordering produce from Carlton Farms next time!

Eat, Buy, Be Local.
Love, Melissa

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

R. Thomas Deluxe Grill- Voted Best Organic Restaurant in Atlanta by Urbanspoon

R. Thomas Deluxe Grill is family owned and a healthy choice! Its three in one, great tasting food, locally owned, and healthy! You really need to check out the website! It was first established a a burger place with "a healthy California flair, but now it also includes the following items:

  • fresh to order juices
  • smoothies
  • free-range meats
  • organics
  • vegetarian and vegan, macrobiotic, gluten free, and raw food items as well breakfast anytime.

Its open 24 hours and its surrounded by tropical birds and lush gardens that are personally cared for by R. Thomas himself. 

Check out the website! It looks amazing! 

-Skye