Revisiting Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver

Our group met for the first time today! We were a small but mighty group of three, discussing Barbara Kingsolver's memoir detailing her family's year of self-reliance to produce most of their own food through farming, raising animals, shopping farmers' markets and trading with neighbors. The family only ate locally and seasonally and published this memoir to tell the tale. But did the memoir really change how people ate? And how is it read differently 12 years after it was published?

We discussed the role of privilege in Kingsolver's memoir. To have land to farm, time to devote, the motivation to cook and the money to do all of it is certainly a position of great privilege.

We discussed whether Kingsolver suggested an entry point for someone who wants to start a locavore diet but lacks all of the resources Kingsolver and her family had. Is there a way to do part of what Kingsolver suggests and to strive to increase engagement over time? Our group wasn't so sure, but a 2017 interview with Kingsolver for the One Book, One Chicago campaign might give some ideas the book lacked:

https://news.wttw.com/2017/05/18/revisiting-miracle-sparked-farm-table-movement

We also discussed the way our childhood eating habits were formed by how our households ran. Some had families that hunted and sought out farmer neighbors while others had a much more "normal" American upbringing of rotating recipes and fussy eating habits.

Here are some additional resources to look at that are connected to our discussion:

Chicago nonprofit FamilyFarmed is training farmers across the nation to convert farmland to food production instead of cash crops and will hold the 15th Annual GoodFood Expo on March 23, 2019 at the UIC Pavillion:

https://familyfarmed.org/

https://goodfoodexpo.org/

Chicago nonprofit Pilot Light is bringing cooking and food culture to area school children:

https://pilotlightchefs.org/

Granor Farm in southwest Michigan was started by two Chicago residents who attended farm camp as children and wanted to create a small farm where area kids could go each summer to learn how and where their food is grown. They offer a 20-week CSA program, farm dinners and, yes, farm camp!

www.granorfarm.com

Looking forward to seeing everyone in April!