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Reading Room:  In Defense of Food  |
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lmillward
True Blue Farmgirl
111 Posts
Lorie
Riverton
UT
USA
111 Posts |
 Posted - Jan 05 2008 : 12:48:30 PM
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Micheal Pollan (The Botany of Desire and the Omnivore's Dilemma) just released his new book In Defense of Food. I'm excited to read it. It is about how one shouldn't eat anything that your great grandmother wouldn't recognize as food. Let me know if youve read it and what you think!
Long live the weeds and the wildflowers! ~John Muir |
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mikesgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
3659 Posts
Sherri
Elma
WA
USA
3659 Posts |
Posted - Jan 05 2008 : 1:01:52 PM
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Sounds really interesting - unique criteria for selecting what you eat. I may have to pick it up.
Farmgirl Sister #98 |
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lmillward
True Blue Farmgirl
111 Posts
Lorie
Riverton
UT
USA
111 Posts |
Posted - Jan 05 2008 : 2:21:01 PM
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He really is an amazing writer. His books are very well researched and written very conversationally. Let me know what you think!
Long live the weeds and the wildflowers! ~John Muir |
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Woodswoman
True Blue Farmgirl
512 Posts
Jennifer
Altamont
NY
USA
512 Posts |
Posted - Jan 05 2008 : 3:51:00 PM
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I pre-ordered it with a gift card I got for Christmas-it just arrived yesterday. I'm only a few pages in, but so far, so good. I like his other books as well.
Jennifer
Farmgirl Sister #104
"Nature brings to every time and season some beauties of its own".
-Charles Dickens |
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sleepless reader
True Blue Farmgirl
1022 Posts
CA
USA
1022 Posts |
Posted - Jan 05 2008 : 7:43:49 PM
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Sounds interesting. I'll have to look for it!
Sharon
Life is messy. Wear your apron! |
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kissmekate
True Blue Farmgirl
890 Posts
Kate
Delano
Minnesota
890 Posts |
Posted - Jan 06 2008 : 10:49:54 AM
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I just ordered it from the Library. Hope it is interesting.
Don't miss out on a blessing, just because it isn't packaged the way you expected. ~MaryJo Copeland |
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palmettogirl
True Blue Farmgirl
571 Posts
sue
camden
south carolina
USA
571 Posts |
Posted - Jan 10 2008 : 09:16:19 AM
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| i read about it in rachael rays magazine. it does sound good and i'm going to see if i can get it at the boodstore this weekend. i like that "not eating what your great-grandmother wouldn't" concept. i find i can focus better on what to do/eat if the "rules" are kept fairly simple!! |
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Horseyrider
True Blue Farmgirl
1045 Posts
Mary Ann
Illinois
1045 Posts |
Posted - Jan 19 2008 : 11:15:56 AM
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I think I need to find this one. I'm in the process of reading The Omnivore's Dilemma and really enjoying it. He's so easy to read, not preachy, doesn't evangelize (ugh, how I dislike that!), he just presents things as he sees them.
Lorie, have you finished it yet? |
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lmillward
True Blue Farmgirl
111 Posts
Lorie
Riverton
UT
USA
111 Posts |
Posted - Jan 19 2008 : 2:05:44 PM
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Not finished yet. It is much smaller than Omnivores Dilemma so shouldnt be long now. He is going to be our keynote lecturer at our lecture series that the natural history museum where I work puts on every year. I'm excited to meet him and talk about his books! Please let me know what you think of the book.
Long live the weeds and the wildflowers! ~John Muir |
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Woodswoman
True Blue Farmgirl
512 Posts
Jennifer
Altamont
NY
USA
512 Posts |
Posted - Jan 21 2008 : 4:38:21 PM
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I just finished it-I really enjoyed it. The first part is background information-how our food system got to be the way is is, etc. The second part is practical information-things to consider when choosing food and how to prepare and eat it.
I like his ideas-they seem practical, easy to implement, and just plain make sense!
Jennifer
Jennifer
Farmgirl Sister #104
"Nature brings to every time and season some beauties of its own".
-Charles Dickens |
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sweetproserpina
True Blue Farmgirl
535 Posts
meg
Vinemount
Ontario
Canada
535 Posts |
Posted - Jan 22 2008 : 06:49:52 AM
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This sounds like a really good book. I enjoyed Omnivore's Dilemma and I really do try to eat food that 'my great-grandma would recognize.' I'll put it on my list for the library!
"Isn't it splendid to think of all the things there are to find out about? It just makes me feel glad to be alive--it's such an interesting world."
http://theprimroseway.blogspot.com/ |
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Horseyrider
True Blue Farmgirl
1045 Posts
Mary Ann
Illinois
1045 Posts |
Posted - Jan 22 2008 : 3:04:12 PM
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Food my great grandmother would recognize? I was just browsing an old cookbook I have (copyright 1916). At the end of a cake recipe, they suggested that if you had leftovers you should soak slices in fruit juice, batter them, and deep fry them. Cracked me up!  |
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prairielandherbs
True Blue Farmgirl
690 Posts
Maggie
Iowa
USA
690 Posts |
Posted - Jan 22 2008 : 4:01:34 PM
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| Thank you for this book suggestion -it sounds wonderful. Can't wait to read it! :) |
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LauraH
True Blue Farmgirl
305 Posts
Laura
North Creek
New York
USA
305 Posts |
Posted - Jan 22 2008 : 4:08:12 PM
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I read Omnivore's Dilemma & have ordered this newest one thru the library.. I thought O. Dilemma was very informative & well written
let me know how this new one is
Laura
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Leezard
True Blue Farmgirl
950 Posts
Elizabeth
Novi
MI
USA
950 Posts |
Posted - Jan 24 2008 : 11:02:13 AM
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I got this notice in an email and I thought it may interest some of you ladies, at least those of you in Indiana anyway :)
quote:
Author Michael Pollan Speaks at Butler University
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 25TH
7:30 P.M.
Butler University
What do you know about the food you eat? Have you ever wondered about what to eat? The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals was named one of the ten best books of 2006 by the New York Times and the Washington Post. Author Michael Pollan, Knight Professor of Science and Environmental Journalism at the University of California, Berkeley, wrote about deciding what to eat when faced with the modern industrial food system.
Hear him speak as part of The J. James Woods Lecture Series. This series was established by a generous gift from the estate of J. James Woods. The goal of the Woods bequest is to bring prominent mathematicians and natural scientists to Butler University in order to speak on theories at the frontier of their disciplines, as well as on related technologies and other issues of public concern.
All Woods Lectures are free and open to the public.
http://ruby--slippers.blogspot.com/
www.leezard.etsy.com |
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Lovin Life
True Blue Farmgirl
103 Posts
Lisa
New Hampshire
103 Posts |
Posted - Jan 30 2008 : 7:17:31 PM
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I really liked the Omnivore's Dilemma. It definitely makes you want to put more thought into exactly what the food you're eating really is. Before I read that, and Animal Vegetable Miracle, I read labels in the grocery store , but mainly just the calories, fat & sugar content. Now, the ingredient label is more important to me. If I never had the ingredients listed in my kitchen, ie. red lake #4 or maltodextrin or cyanocobalamin...what the heck is that??! Then I don't buy it.
Another good book, that I'm reading now is called The $64 Tomato. It's pretty funny, and about a man and his quest for the perfect garden/fresh food. Lots of laugh out loud parts!
I'd rather live my life with a "full plate" than an empty one. Life is not a rehearsal... eat up! |
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lmillward
True Blue Farmgirl
111 Posts
Lorie
Riverton
UT
USA
111 Posts |
Posted - Feb 02 2008 : 7:06:09 PM
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Thanks for the suggestion lisa! I'm gonna "pick" the tomato book up. Been lookin for something new to read in the non-fiction category
Long live the weeds and the wildflowers! |
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sissysquilts
True Blue Farmgirl
368 Posts
sissy
wa
USA
368 Posts |
Posted - Feb 02 2008 : 9:52:25 PM
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I picked this up at Costco last week but haven't had a chance to read it. A friend highly recommended it. If anyone wants to read it when I'm done I'd be happy to pass it along if you would then pass it and so on :) I always feel better buying a book when it can be shared :)
Farmgirl Sister #117
"The good stars met in your horoscope. Made you of spirit,fire and dew"
Robert Browning |
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Lovin Life
True Blue Farmgirl
103 Posts
Lisa
New Hampshire
103 Posts |
Posted - Feb 04 2008 : 6:26:51 PM
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I hope you like it Lorie, I finished it and gave it back to my mother. Now I'm on to the other book she lent me "All Souls: A family story from Southie". It's about the Irish families in the South End of Boston, Whitey Bulger's Southie. I just started it today, so don't know too much about it yet. I'm thinking it will be similar to Mystic River, the movie with Sean Penn.
I'd rather live my life with a "full plate" than an empty one. Life is not a rehearsal... eat up! |
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chicken necker
True Blue Farmgirl
509 Posts
Sherry
Eastern Shore
Maryland
USA
509 Posts |
Posted - Feb 05 2008 : 07:18:59 AM
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Sounds interesting, I might check it out of the library. But, I'm not so sure about the part of "what my grandmother wouldn't recognize" part. Sorry, but she was a Horrible cook. She would cook the bejezzes out of everything so even I didn't "recognize" it! Ewww.
I love deadlines. I especially like the whooshing sound they make as they go flying by. ~anon |
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rain4nights
Farmgirl in Training
17 Posts
Bess
Cleveland
OH
USA
17 Posts |
Posted - Feb 22 2008 : 1:46:38 PM
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I ordered the new Pollan book forever ago at the library... still waiting. But I loved "Omnivore's Dilemna" and "Botany of Desire", so I'll probably like this one too.
If you like plants, and you haven't read "Botany of Desire", get it soon while you're waiting for Defense of Food! It tells great stories about the history of apples, potatoes, tulips and marijuana... all of which have been (for good or ill) important to euro-american societies. It's all about how we have shaped these plants, and in some ways they may have shaped us! The Dutch went through a period of tulip-frenzy where they were actually buying "tulip futures" like the bulbs were part of the stock market!
Having read this thread, I just ordered $64 Tomato from the library, that sounds like a good one too!
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Love cooking, canning and locally produced food?
Show your pride: www.cafepress.com/glassharts |
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LauraH
True Blue Farmgirl
305 Posts
Laura
North Creek
New York
USA
305 Posts |
Posted - Mar 06 2008 : 5:14:06 PM
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I am in the middle of In Defense of Food right now.. I also read Omnivore's Dilemma loved that one too. I really like Michael Pollan's view of food.. fast food bad... over processed bad... Keep it Simple! His quote from this one is Eat, Not Too Much, Mostly Plants!
Laura |
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willowtreecreek
True Blue Farmgirl
4813 Posts
Julie
Russell
AR
USA
4813 Posts |
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Feythe
Farmgirl in Training
32 Posts
Jana
Decatur
GA
USA
32 Posts |
Posted - Mar 07 2008 : 3:54:25 PM
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This topic's postings put me in mind of a book that is to life what Pollan's books seem to be to eating. I read it about four years ago and it changed, and continues to change, my life. It's called, In Praise of Slowness: How a Worldwide Movement is Challenging the Cult of Speed, by Carl Honore. I read it as part of a virtual book club that met on a phone conference line one night a week. The book begins with an eye-opening history of our concept of time and includes a chapter on the Slow Food movement. It deepened my awareness like never before of the pace at which I do things in my life (dress, speak, read, walk, drive, etc.). Not so much new information, but somehow this was the "teaching moment" when it got through to my brain and resulted in actual changes.
"We're individuals, and one speed doesn't fit all. The important thing is to put thought into the rhythm of our lives. Telling yourself, “I would like to slow down, but I have no choice” is not good enough. If we don't own our own lives, our own time, we have to ask ourselves if we own much, in any real sense." - Rod MacIver, Heron Dance
All is Well. |
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Carrie W
Farmgirl Legend/Chapter Guru
437 Posts
Saratoga Springs
New York
USA
437 Posts |
Posted - Mar 08 2008 : 08:40:34 AM
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I just ordered "Omnivore's Dilemma" (same author as In Defense) from the library because of all the Hub Bub about this subject. I've read Kingsolver's "Animal Vegetable Miracle" as well as Sleeths' "Serve God Save the Planet" (Excellent!!) so I am very interested in reading more. The slow movement interests me and I think there is really something behind slowness and our physical/spiritual/emotional health. I even get my husband to read some and he is wanted to make a change, too. That helps when he is "on board" so to speak. I've been trying to slow my life down for a few years now and and getting so that I really enjoy life more. I'd still like to cut some stuff, though, and I think my eating/shopping is helping me make those changes.
I'll post more when I get some reading done!!
Your farmgirl sister--
Carrie
www.totallykadeshfarm.blogspot.com
Farmgirl Sisterhood #147
Tis better to weep at joy than to joy at weeping--Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing |
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Reading Room: In Defense of Food |
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In Defense of Food
