I am currently reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. The excerpt from the book’s website summarizes the book very nicely:
Part memoir, part journalistic investigation, this book (released May 2007) tells the story of how our family was changed by one year of deliberately eating food produced in the place where we live. Barbara wrote the central narrative; Steven’s sidebars dig deeper into various aspects of food-production science and industry; Camille’s brief essays offer a nineteen-year-old’s perspective on the local-food project, plus nutritional information, meal plans and recipes.
This book has challenged me to think more about where my food comes from. I have been learning a lot recently about how to eat more nutritionally and there is so much I do not know. Right now, my goal is to prepare more nutritious foods for my family. But this book has me thinking about where my food comes from, and how much it costs the environment to get it to me. This quote from the book, which is also my tip, has spurred me on to buy as much as I can locally – including both food and non-food items.
Buying your goods from local businesses rather than national chains generates about three times as much money for your local economy. Studies from all over the country agree on that, even while consumers keep buying at chain stores, and fretting that the downtown blocks of cute mom-and-pop venues are turning into a ghost town. Today’s bargain always seems to matter more.
Becki@BlogMommas Said:
on April 21, 2009 at 4:37 pm
This i so interesting. Recently I was talking to a friend about some of the produce sold in my town. We live an hour away from some of the most awesome onion fields I’ve ever seen – major production! BUT, at our grocery store the onions are trucked in from another state. We also have local potatoes and only one store in town sells them. I definitely plan to get out to the farmers market this year and take advantage of the local produce..better to stimulate the local economy than the economy of a state I never even go to, ya know?
Happy Tuesday!