Thinking about eating

04Oct07

I’ve recently surrounded myself with books about food and food origins. The Year of the Goat is written by the wife of a friend of mine about a year long road trip. Their pursuit – information on all things goat and answers to the most pervasive of questions for those of us in our 30s – what should I be doing with my life. It’s a fun read with stories about farmers and Somalis and cheese affineurs. There’s plenty of food education as well for those geeky enough to be truly interested in the difference between meat and dairy goats. They do a good job balancing the romance of starting a family farm and the toil and hardships faced by those that decide to make food production their means of economic survival. Margaret and Karl (he took all the photos) used to live in NYC. They now have a farm in Maine and are raising dairy goats among other creatures. They’ve been getting some good press and sometimes do a piece on NPR.

I’m smack in the middle of Michael Pollan’s Omnivore’s Dilemma, which is too long but pretty damn interesting. He maps the origins and production of four different meals – fast food, industrial organic, small farm, and hunted – with vivid details of the ethics behind the food decisions we undeliberately make.

Lastly, I’ve started Barbara Kingsolver’s Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. She and her family also took a year out to try a new way of life – only eating things produced within a certain radius (except for a few things like salt and olive oil). I read her Poisonwood Bible and loved it, about a missionary girl growing up in Africa. Her writing is beautiful, regardless of subject matter, so I’m really enjoying this book. It’s got a coziness that makes me want to cuddle under a quilted blanket with a plate of warm cookies – or organic cookies, or cookies only made with locally grown ingredients, or those that incorporate fair traded chocolate, or…

Filed under: digestibles, good reads   |  1 Comment