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Animal, Vegetable, Miracle
by Barbara Kingsolver, Steven L. Hopp, Camille Kingsolver
by Barbara Kingsolver, Steven L. Hopp, Camille Kingsolver
still processing my thoughts with this one.
loved most of it, really disliked a few things. the good definitely outweighed the bad, though, so 4 stars, for now. :)
***
okay, coming back to this, a few notes about this book:
i want a copy to own. there was so much good information, good recipes, brilliant ideas that i would love to incorporate over time
(the woman who grew the amazing heirloom tomatoes in her greenhouse during the winter comes to mind)
i also learned many new things in her description of the Vegetannual (which you can find a picture of online at her website, along with the recipes from the book)
I appreciated the eye opening articles and information about Monsanto and heirloom vegetables.
the things that i didn't like:
i didn't like how when it came to eating meat, they seemed to over-talk it. if you eat meat, fine. great. awesome. but please don't compare chopping heads of lettuce out of the ground to chopping heads off of cows and chickens and pigs. they are NOT the same.
i can totally respect your decision to eat meat, but i think it does a disservice to compare killing animals to the "death" involved in gardening.
i was also confused over their stance on dairy. one sentence they are talking about how humans are the only mammals to drink the cow of other animals, how milk isn't meant to be consumed into adulthood, how lactose intolerance is a result of consuming a product that is not meant to be consumed, etc.
then in the next breath, she talks about drinking fresh unpasteurized cow's milk, making homemade mozzarella, etc. etc.
i guess her tendency to argue every side made her beliefs or opinions a little blurry, and made me more confused.
i also felt a great sense of turmoil over eating bananas and avocados and oranges and other things that just aren't grown in Iowa. they are delicious, they are healthy, and they are foods that my children love that don't come in a box, so as long as possible, i'll buy them. (we would obviously have to add those to our list of "luxury" items)
i was absolutely floored when she told the story of Camille's friend going grocery shopping with their family, and when asked if anybody would like anything, they showed such SHOCK when she dare ask for bananas. As though she asked for a bottle of Jack Daniels and a 2 liter of Coke. I think it's great that they "converted" another one for local eating, but it just seemed so inappropriate to make a young girl feel like her suggestion (THAT THEY ASKED FOR) was such a poor one.
in the end, i really did like the book. i feel that most of my frustration comes from my desire to change our family's current way of thinking about food and diet and the environment, and while this book opened my eyes in a few areas, this book did make things a little more confusing for me at the same time.
i am glad i read it, and i will definitely buy a copy in the future, but i'm definitely not in a position to follow it completely. you know, unless somebody wants to give us a farm in California, and a bank account full of money. ;)
loved most of it, really disliked a few things. the good definitely outweighed the bad, though, so 4 stars, for now. :)
***
okay, coming back to this, a few notes about this book:
i want a copy to own. there was so much good information, good recipes, brilliant ideas that i would love to incorporate over time
(the woman who grew the amazing heirloom tomatoes in her greenhouse during the winter comes to mind)
i also learned many new things in her description of the Vegetannual (which you can find a picture of online at her website, along with the recipes from the book)
I appreciated the eye opening articles and information about Monsanto and heirloom vegetables.
the things that i didn't like:
i didn't like how when it came to eating meat, they seemed to over-talk it. if you eat meat, fine. great. awesome. but please don't compare chopping heads of lettuce out of the ground to chopping heads off of cows and chickens and pigs. they are NOT the same.
i can totally respect your decision to eat meat, but i think it does a disservice to compare killing animals to the "death" involved in gardening.
i was also confused over their stance on dairy. one sentence they are talking about how humans are the only mammals to drink the cow of other animals, how milk isn't meant to be consumed into adulthood, how lactose intolerance is a result of consuming a product that is not meant to be consumed, etc.
then in the next breath, she talks about drinking fresh unpasteurized cow's milk, making homemade mozzarella, etc. etc.
i guess her tendency to argue every side made her beliefs or opinions a little blurry, and made me more confused.
i also felt a great sense of turmoil over eating bananas and avocados and oranges and other things that just aren't grown in Iowa. they are delicious, they are healthy, and they are foods that my children love that don't come in a box, so as long as possible, i'll buy them. (we would obviously have to add those to our list of "luxury" items)
i was absolutely floored when she told the story of Camille's friend going grocery shopping with their family, and when asked if anybody would like anything, they showed such SHOCK when she dare ask for bananas. As though she asked for a bottle of Jack Daniels and a 2 liter of Coke. I think it's great that they "converted" another one for local eating, but it just seemed so inappropriate to make a young girl feel like her suggestion (THAT THEY ASKED FOR) was such a poor one.
in the end, i really did like the book. i feel that most of my frustration comes from my desire to change our family's current way of thinking about food and diet and the environment, and while this book opened my eyes in a few areas, this book did make things a little more confusing for me at the same time.
i am glad i read it, and i will definitely buy a copy in the future, but i'm definitely not in a position to follow it completely. you know, unless somebody wants to give us a farm in California, and a bank account full of money. ;)
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Elizabeth
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Jul 17, 2008 10:25am
that's a really good review, Mindi... I haven't read it yet, but I bet I will have the same reaction to some things you mention. As a practicality issue with three small children, I pretty much need to feed them fruit and vegetables that aren't grown around here because they are things that THEY WILL EAT. But we also buy a lot from farmers' markets, and grow as much as the space where we're living will allow. At the end of the day, bananas will always have a place in our lives. Ha.
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thanks ladies :)i didn't want to be too harsh, because i really did like the book, but those are just things that stood out to me.
Valerie, I'm about 6 hours drive from Fayetteville. And I imagine Iowa winters are quite similar to Canadian winters. snow is snow, right? or is it? i'm completely ignorant in this area. ;)
Mindi, as much as I LOVED this book, and I did really love it, I totally see where you're coming from on these points. I think I read it with a filter, sort of auto-sorting what is plausible and implausible for us. Even still, I was fascinated by the implausible pile - which includes direct involvement with live poultry (and recently deceased poultry, for that matter). I do think BK captures well - especially in regard to meat & dairy - the ambiguity involved with eating. There is no 100% ethical meal, but that doesn't mean we should feel guilty when we eat. If anything, the locavore/ slow food movement aims for greater pleasure in food.
I definitely see where you're coming from in that her tendency to argue all sides made things kind of blurry (though the little devil in me actually loved that she pointed out all those things about dairy though since I've come to the same conclusions myself). I found some the "Trust" tomatoes at a Farmer's Market!
