Animal, Vegetable, Miracle

I've been listening to a book on CD by one of my very favorite authors, Barbara Kingsolver. This one is called "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle A year of Food Life" by Barbara Kingsolver, Steven Hopp, and Camille Kingsolver. In this book, Barbara describes being a "locavore." She and her family try to eat only local foods. They eat foods that are in season. They grow their own vegetables and raise their own chickens and turkeys. As a frequent listener to books on CD, I always appreciate a signal that the CD has come to the end and in this book I can tell the CD is at the end because I hear the sound of chickens clucking or turkeys gobbling. There is something about the sounds of chickens making noise that makes me feel safe. She talks about the nutritional values of organic foods. She claims that eggs from free range, organic chickens have half the cholesterol of store bought eggs. The cholesterol in eggs from free range chickens have higher levels of the good cholesterol plus some minerals that are absent in the white eggs from the grocery store. Listening to this story makes me want to raise chickens. I consider how much hassle it would be to have 2 or 3 laying hens and possibly a rooster to keep an eye on their safety. I'd choose a heritage chicken - possibly the ones that lay green eggs. I'd like to be closer to my food sources. Listening to her talk about her garden inspires me to try again even though I've had the worst harvest this year in my gardening history. As for being a locavore, I just don't know. I have so many things to worry about - prices, protein content, calories, and fiber. It's all so overwhelming and I don't pay a bit of attention to sodium. If I add locality to the mix I think I might go insane. In the end, the Kingsolver family isn't able to eat only local foods. They are not willing to give up coffee and olive oil and some spices. But they come very close and it sounds like they ate very well. The book includes suggested weekly menus, cooking tips, canning tips, recipes, gardening ideas, and tips for holiday gatherings of family and friends. Kingsolver has a biology background and she conveys information about ecology, insects, pesticides, health, and genetics in manner that is not a lecture or a sermon. As you can tell, I liked this book. I have loved every book by Barbara Kingsolver. I don't think she can write one I wouldn't like.