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Reading Room:  Animal,Vegtable,Miracle  |
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katevc
Farmgirl in Training
17 Posts
Kate
Hutchinson
KS
USA
17 Posts |
 Posted - Sep 12 2007 : 1:40:46 PM
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I am waiting to read AVM, my family buys one book and we mail it to each other to read it. But, to share an idea from a food co-op in Middlebury, VT along the lines of awareness of how far your food has traveled - on all the produce in the Co-Op they use laminated tags and grease pencils for the name of produce, price etc. But they also put where it comes from - often including the mileage. It was a great educational tool and I know I often changed my mind about what to purchase when that information was shared. So, if any of you farmgirls shop at a local food co-op share that idea and see what happens!
To plant a thing and watch it grow... that is to nurture a miracle. |
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Amie C.
True Blue Farmgirl
2099 Posts
Finger Lakes Region
NY
2099 Posts |
Posted - Sep 12 2007 : 7:50:07 PM
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I read it this summer and I liked it a lot. I've always felt that eating local was more important than eating "certified organic". Mainly because my dad works at the processing plant for the local dairy coop, and in recent years because of the outrageous sprawl that I've seen take over the farming country just outside town. Our county has negative population growth and yet we're building new houses on farmland like there's a population boom!? So I'm glad to see someone backing up my feeling with facts and figures. I've been getting all my summertime fruits and veggies at a local farm market for the past couple of years, and she really got me motivated to put more away for the winter even though I don't have a big garden, a big stove, or a big freezer.
One picky detail about the book: Do you remember a line about a friend quoting her a scripture verse during harvest season? She says that the friend says "The harvest is ready and the labors are few" (according to my memory). She finds it amusingly wrong and uses that as the jumpoff point to describe the many labors of harvest season. But the quote is wrong! I can't remember where it is exactly in the Bible, but the quote is actually "The harvest is ready and the LABORERS are few." It's Jesus talking, and he's using the example of the crazy busy need for help at the harvest season to make the point that he needs disciples to help him in his spiritual work. He knows exactly what Barbara Kingsolver is talking about! I don't know why this bugs me so much, but it does... probably because I do proofreading and copy editing at work. Do any of you Bible readers happen to know the chapter and verse? I'm sure I'm right about the essence of the quote. |
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TillieB
Farmgirl in Training
25 Posts
Marjorie
Berwick
ME
USA
25 Posts |
Posted - Sep 24 2007 : 5:23:34 PM
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| This book is changing several people's lives. I was fortunate to take the cheese making class from Ricki Carrol last week. Barbara talks about her class with Ricki. I was signed up for the class before the "book". When I read it in May I thought, "Holy #)%_* this cheese place is going to be famous." Sure enough she has 200 people on the waiting list and her mail order business quadrupled. www.cheesemaking.com The class was awesome and Ricki really is the Cheese Queen. The thing that surprised me the most were the students. There were several young mothers and the reason they were there was they read "the book" (that's what Ricki is calling it) I realized when I read the book that is how I was raised and try to live. These girls never had home economics in school, probably no 4H and their mom's probably worked out of the house. They want to change how they are raising their children. It was a very inspirational day from all aspects. Cheese making is a blast and it was nice to have some confirmation on people being aware of what they eat. Barbara Kingsolver could help change a lot of things. Read the book and pass it on! |
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Amie C.
True Blue Farmgirl
2099 Posts
Finger Lakes Region
NY
2099 Posts |
Posted - Sep 25 2007 : 05:53:06 AM
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I liked the bit about the cheesemaking, too. I tried making cheese for the first time about 5 years ago, with supplies ordered from Ricki Carrol's business.
I wonder what it would take to bring back real home ec programs? I never had it in school either, and I was disappointed even at the time. That was the stuff I was looking forward to learning. |
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Reading Room: Animal,Vegtable,Miracle |
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Animal,Vegtable,Miracle
