Animal, Vegetable, Miracle - Barbara Kingsolver, Camille Kingsolver & Steven L. Hopp

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle

By Barbara Kingsolver, Camille Kingsolver & Steven L. Hopp

  • Release Date: 2009-10-13
  • Genre: Gardening
Score: 4.5
4.5
From 87 Ratings

Description

At long last, the bestselling author of Small Miracles and The Poisonwood Bible returns with the wise and compelling true story of her family’s adventure to reclaim the food they eat

America has long been a nation of farmers. But within the past several decades, our food supply has become dependent on transportation that burns fossil fuels and on increasingly fewer varieties of vegetables and animals. In a single generation, most Americans have lost their knowledge of agriculture and the natural processes that are a part of our food chain. But while food is cheap we pay for it in other ways, including shorter life spans for our children, argues Barbara Kingsolver.

Determined to integrate their food choices with their family values, Kingsolver and her family moved from suburban Arizona to a rural Appalachia, and embarked on an adventure of realigning their lives with the food chain. Part memoir, part journalistic investigation, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle follows them through the first year of their experiment.

Told in the compelling voices of the Kingsolver family, it recalls their experiences, and introduces other passionate, committed citizens who are trying to turn the tide in their communities, from organic farmers to members of the Slow Food movement who are doing their best to protect our foods against extinction and return us to a way of life that is better for our health, our wallets, and our environment.

Reviews

  • Food for thought

    3
    By Srwcapecod
    No pun intended, but this book is eye opening. I really hate grocery shopping and really never gave much thought to where our food is coming from, especially in off seasons. Living in New England, there are lots of farmers markets during the summer, but in the winter, we are at the mercy of produce being trucked from the west coast or worse, outside of our country. This book makes you think about using what is in season and making changes that will help our environment. Not many of us could do what the author did, living off their land and producing just about all they ate for a year, but we can all start doing our part. It does take time, thought and planning. The reason I didn't give 5 stars is because I felt there was a lot of "filler" that really wasn't necessary in this book.
  • I'm hooked!

    5
    By Babykwai
    This was my first kingsolver book and it convinced me to read all her others. I loved the narrative, it inspired me to shop local and start my own garden!
  • Must read!!

    5
    By AKBonita
    Barbara is a wonderful inspiration! I had already began changing how I feed my family before reading this book, but she helped further my awareness of our food system in this country. We can change how we choose to eat!
  • Miraculous indeed!

    5
    By blue moon reviewer
    This book has changed the way I think about food. Since reading it, I have started a small vegetable garden in my urban yard, I've begun shopping at a food co-op that carries local produce, and I'm endeavoring to make more meals from scratch. My biggest take-away from the book: that food, and its preparation, are worth all the time and loving attention we can devote to it.

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