Kingsolver on local eating

As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, Barbara Kingsolver's latest book, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle will be out tomorrow. In it, she, her husband and their daughter explore a year of eating only locally grown food, whether they themselves grew it or whether they personally knew the farmers who did.

I'd imagine the release was timed to coincide with the beginning of the growing season. In the last couple of weeks, the offerings at the Greensboro Farmers' Curb Market have blossomed from hearty winter veggies into salad greens, radishes and the first plants for your home veggie garden. We've filled out our small garden plot with several tomato plants, a variety of herbs and even a couple of strawberry plants.

In her typical way, Kingsolver elegantly wraps up the value of eating locally in a Salon.com interview this weekend:

Food is the one consumer choice we have to make every day. We can use that buying power in a transaction that burns excessive fossil fuels, erodes topsoil, supports multinationals that pay their workers just a few bucks a day -- or the same money could strengthen neighborhood food economies, keep green spaces alive around our towns, and compensate farmers for applying humane values. Every purchase weighs in on one side or the other. It just isn't possible to opt out."

It's not necessary to live on a farm to eat mindfully, but it's necessary to know farms exist, and have some appreciation for what they do. It takes a little background to recognize the social, biological and epicurean differences between CAFOs [Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations] and pasture operations, extractive vs. sustainable farming, or even what will be in season each month of the year. Amazingly, the outcome of responsible choices can be good health, money saved and a happy palate. Really, it's good news."