Miss Gioia

Sunday, November 9, 2008

(Really) Local Food


On my flight back from the US in September, I read Barbara Kingslover's Animal, Vegetable, Mineral. Such an interesting book. I started in Atlanta and finished it just before we touched down in Tokyo. If you have any interest in gardening or the local food movement, then this one should be added to your library.

Barbara's experiment, namely a year of eating things she had either grown herself or bought from people who lived nearby, was ambitious and dramatic. Raising baby Turkeys in the Spring in order to "harvest" them at Thanksgiving. Planting trays of seeds which were moved into the ground as soon as possible. Leaving bags of unwanted squash on the neighbors' porches because there was nowhere else to put them. Canning, canning and more canning in preparation for winter.

I was impressed. Almost inspired. Reading this book made me want to move to Appalachia and grow my own asparagus. Better to start small, though. Perhaps with the (less ambitious) plants on my porch.

Barbara completed her experiment, even thrived because of it. Food for thought for all of us.

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