So as a part of my "Farmgirl experience", earning badges and whatnot through Mary Jane's Farm, I have started reading the book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver (artwork found on her website of the same name is featured here to the left). It may not sound like an exciting journey into the literary world to some, but it is quite the fascinating read. I am really enjoying it and would recommend it to everyone, not just those who are of the currently trendy "Locavore" classification. The book follows Kingsolver and her family as they attempt to eat a diet of only local food for one year. Well, why would you do that? Who cares that wouldn't be too hard...guess again. It's challenging for them, though they were a family all willing to participate together in the project. How would a normal family cope, the a banana a day family who would no longer be able to consume the South American fruit day in and day out? On my last trip to the store, I tried to go with only local organic fruits and veggies...can you believe I found only one? And it wasn't even "local". I found a pint of organic raspberries from Watsonville, Ca. Now that's about a 10 hour drive from my house...not as far as the bananas, but hardly "local". So you can see how selecting a local diet is a little harder than just running down to the store to pick up a few things. I am curious now, as to how I could find local, organic produce...I will begin researching CSAs in my area and canvassing the local farmer's markets for organic stalls...I think it will take a lot of time to get to the point where all of my food is local and organic, but it's time that I think is well spent and really makes me appreciate what's going into my mouth that much more. California is one of the best places in the US for produce, we can grow all kinds of things here - so why not go with it? I'll keep you posted on my progress as I venture into the local organic scene and give you tips on where you may be able to find a similar scene in your neck of the woods.
Friday, August 6, 2010
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle
So as a part of my "Farmgirl experience", earning badges and whatnot through Mary Jane's Farm, I have started reading the book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver (artwork found on her website of the same name is featured here to the left). It may not sound like an exciting journey into the literary world to some, but it is quite the fascinating read. I am really enjoying it and would recommend it to everyone, not just those who are of the currently trendy "Locavore" classification. The book follows Kingsolver and her family as they attempt to eat a diet of only local food for one year. Well, why would you do that? Who cares that wouldn't be too hard...guess again. It's challenging for them, though they were a family all willing to participate together in the project. How would a normal family cope, the a banana a day family who would no longer be able to consume the South American fruit day in and day out? On my last trip to the store, I tried to go with only local organic fruits and veggies...can you believe I found only one? And it wasn't even "local". I found a pint of organic raspberries from Watsonville, Ca. Now that's about a 10 hour drive from my house...not as far as the bananas, but hardly "local". So you can see how selecting a local diet is a little harder than just running down to the store to pick up a few things. I am curious now, as to how I could find local, organic produce...I will begin researching CSAs in my area and canvassing the local farmer's markets for organic stalls...I think it will take a lot of time to get to the point where all of my food is local and organic, but it's time that I think is well spent and really makes me appreciate what's going into my mouth that much more. California is one of the best places in the US for produce, we can grow all kinds of things here - so why not go with it? I'll keep you posted on my progress as I venture into the local organic scene and give you tips on where you may be able to find a similar scene in your neck of the woods.
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