Hey friends! How are you? I’m finally back from my whirlwind tour of the Eastern United States. Or what feels like a tour of the Eastern United States. I did cover 3 States total, but traveled through 6 states overall. Anyway, all that travel and fun didn’t leave me any extra time for reading much less planning our book discussion for this week. So Tracy from Garden, Cook, Eat, Repeat was gracious enough to write our discussion as a guest post for us. And when I say gracious, I truly mean it. I asked her on very short notice and she was so super happy to do it for us! Thank you Tracy! Oh, and one more thing. I need to push our next post, our wrap up reading of Animal, Vegetable, Miracle back by a week…because…ahem…I’ll be on the road again in two weeks. Such as hard life I lead, I know. But we want to try to do a video chat for our wrap up so I want to make sure I have the time to devote to that. So if you all are in agreement, let’s do our round up on February 25th. I’ll provide more details later. Anyway…onwards! After reading Tracy’s fantastic post, please go show her some love over on her blog. She is truly inspirational! And without further ado, take it away Tracy!!
Guest Post on Discussion of Animal, Vegetable, Miracle
Chapters, 11 – 15
Many thanks to our Chicken Librarian Kristin for the invitation to write the lead into our book club discussion of Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. This week we are considering chapters 11 through 15.
There was a lot of ground to cover in these five chapters! Below, I have listed Kingsolver’s chapter titles and my two-cent summaries:
11 – Slow Food Nations: Kingsolver shares regional food observations from a family trip from home to Canada, across NY and PA, and over to Amish friends living on a farm in OH. At the farm, they discuss pesticide use, bugs, and the dilemma and risks of “getting big” versus staying a small, family farm.
12 – Zucchini Larceny: In spite of the weeds, the harvest will come in. And the harvest isn’t going to wait for you. Regardless of what’s on your schedule, you will have to fit it in. And do something with it. Also, roosters come of age.
13 – Life in a Red State: Food preservation, food labels at the grocery store – what is REALLY locally-grown, and farmers making pennies on the dollar. There’s still a lack of understanding of farmers’ needs – and still a notable lack of respect for farmers and their work in today’s society.
14 – You Can’t Run Away On Harvest Day: Killing animals – roosters and turkeys. Family friends, children included, assist Kingsolver and her family with the process. Also, the environmental impact of the “meat industry’s” CAFOs and a call to raise meat sustainability – plus how raising meat can in fact produce a healthier ecosystem when we move away from the industrial food system method prevalent today.
By the way, did you all know that the author (Barbara Kingsolver) holds degrees in biology and her husband (Steven L. Hopp) – a co-author on this book – is a professor of environmental science? Consider that as you read this book.
15 – Where Fish Wear Crowns: Kingsolver and her husband take a trip to Italy where they enjoy the culture of (respect for) food, describe their agriturismo (stay at a working farm) experience, and gardens everywhere.
Three Questions
I want to start (and end) with these three questions – something for the group to think about as you read today’s post and then develop your own thoughts in comments. We absolutely want to hear from you! Join in!
· One: What is American food?
· Two: Do you eat meat and where do your beliefs about eating or not eating meat come from?
· Three: How do you create space in your routine to give time to growing / raising food and cooking / preserving? (Or, how are you GOING to create that time moving forward?)
One: What is American food?
I grew up in Western NY, under Buffalo, so I think you might guess where I’m going with this.
Wings. Buffalo Chicken Wings. WNY, we don’t typically say Buffalo Wings; we say wings. (And we don’t necessarily agree with all those “flavors” of wings that float around out there… But I digress.)
So what IS American food? Probably like many of you, I think regional dishes (ingredients) versus “American.” That means in WNY I salivate for Wings and Beef on ‘Weck (Kummelweck roll). Then there is “The South” – known for its tasty BBQ in many forms and flavors, along with Kansas; regions in Louisiana with its Cajun food; Idaho potatoes; New England with its chowder; Chicago deep-dish pizza; NYC “thin slice”; Maine and its lobster roll; Philly Cheesesteak in PA; Tex-Mex in Texas; fried cheese curds in Wisconsin; avocado in “healthy” dishes developed in California… and so on.
But what IS American food? This question has been asked abroad and answers often include: hot dogs, hamburgers, McDonald’s, and my personal favorite: corn on the cob. But American food is more than fast food or sandwiches. And embracing our local resources and forgoing the fast food for home-cooked food helps combat that dreary image of US cuisine.
Loving to “cook, eat, drink, and be merry,” I grew up on a staple of dishes that were probably German-based (a sizable number of my mother’s side comes from PA Deutsch region). No complaints. My father hunted, so there was often venison or another game meat. My mother made a roast with potatoes almost every Sunday for dinner held at 1:00pm. Often there was pie, usually apple.
So hard pressed for an answer, if you asked me 30 years ago “what is American food?” I might have told you: roast beef (or venison), mashed potatoes, homemade gravy, corn, and apple pie for dessert. Cooked at home, lovingly, by my mother. Family around the table. Sometimes lovingly. (Ha!)
I never would have said McDonald’s. That wasn’t American food. That was “fast food.” American food is cooked in the home. And like America, it’s a delightful, delectable mish-mash of cultures, traditions, regions, innovation, and love.
I need to create a bumper sticker.
So my first question to you, fellow readers and visitors:
What is American food? And a part two to that question, if you’re up for it: What do you want the world to picture when they think American food?
(Dear Canadian Readers – I know you are out there! People often picture “Canadian bacon,” maple syrup, and poutine as Canadian food, but we know there is so much more across your vast country! Please share your thoughts and dishes, too!)
Two: Do you eat meat and where do your beliefs about eating or not eating meat come from?
I believe at some point many of us who love animals, care about their well-being, AND care about our food choices, consider the question: Should I eat meat?
My answer is not intended to argue for one choice over the other. You need to follow your own true compass – based on disinterested facts – and make your decision from there.
To answer the question: yes, I eat meat. My father hunted (I love venison) and in truth, I didn’t know anyone who didn’t eat meat when I was growing up. The closest I could come to a person “not eating meat” were family members who only ate chicken or fish. When I made my way out into the world, I met “vegetarians” who ate fish. Eventually, I met vegetarians who did not eat fish. I’m sure I might know a vegan, somewhere.
Over the years, I’ve come to understand that people – myself included – seek proof to support their own beliefs and desires. Some vegetarians point to CAFOs (a convincing argument) for a good reason to not eat meat.
Let’s look at these abbreviated definitions from the US Dept. of Agriculture (Link: https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/national/plantsanimals/livestock/afo/ ):
Animal Feeding Operations (AFO) and Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) defines AFOs as agricultural enterprises where animals are kept and raised in confined situations. AFOs congregate animals, feed, manure and urine, dead animals, and production operations on a small land area. Feed is brought to the animals rather than the animals grazing or otherwise seeking feed in pastures, fields, or on rangeland… A CAFO is another EPA term for a large concentrated AFO. A CAFO is an AFO with more than 1000 animal units (an animal unit is defined as an animal equivalent of 1000 pounds live weight and… Any size AFO that discharges manure or wastewater into a natural or man-made ditch, stream or other waterway is defined as a CAFO, regardless of size.
I think by now most of us have heard the term CAFO, and many of us agree this is not ideal living conditions for the animals in these arrangements, not good for the environment in the short- and long-term, and ultimately, produces a poor food product for our bodies.
We have also seen (or heard of) the reports of how animals have been treated in these types of conditions. Many of us find this to be unacceptable.
There are those who cite the above as reason enough to not eat meat. Again, a convincing argument.
Now let’s get back to the book we are discussing, and in particular, chapter 14 (You Can’t Run Away On Harvest Day). Kingsolver, a meat-eater (remember, she was also a vegetarian prior to this book) writes on page 221:
“The blunt biological truth is that we animals only remain alive by eating other life. Plants are inherently more blameless, having been born with the talent of whipping up their own food… Strangely enough, it’s the animals to which we’ve assigned some rights, while the saintly plants we maim and behead with moral impunity. Who thinks to beg forgiveness while mowing the lawn?”
And that’s the key, isn’t it? For one to live, another life – many other lives – must die.
Kingsolver continues:
“… we still must live with the fact that every sack of flour and soybean-based block of tofu came from a field where countless winged and furry lives were extinguished in the plowing, cultivating, and harvesting.”
She also points to the loss of bird life and helpful insect life (think butterflies) when pesticides have been used on these crops. She adds: “To believe we can live without taking life is delusional.”
Ah, yes. That truth that many find so distasteful – even the meat eaters who pretend that hamburgers come from a grocery store.
And yet, above is philosophical in nature (as much as it’s true), so let’s move on to one real-life example she provides (pages 226 and 227). Consider the region of Piura in Peru in which the return of goat raising – for food and for strengthening the natural vegetation – not only added a benefit to the environment, the health and well-being improved of families improved.
Looking more local, Kingsolver notes that:
“Using diesel tractors to turn the earth every spring …sends our topsoil downhill into the creeks with every rain, creating many problems at once. …Cattle, goats, sheep, turkeys, and chickens all have their own efficient ways of turning steep, grass-covered hillsides into food. …They do it without drinking a drop of gasoline.”
And that’s what we all must face. We cannot shy away from the fact that whether we eat meat or not, we are still having an impact – and sometimes a negative one – on this planet and everything that lives here, plant or animal.
To round out my answer to the question, “do I eat meat and where do my beliefs about eating meat come from?” I would answer (again): yes, and that my beliefs started with my family and community’s culture. My beliefs (and hopefully knowledge) have grown based upon listening to the various voices out there discussing pros and cons – both philosophical and factual. I have not shied away from considering respectfully and with an open mind the philosophies that were not mine, as well as the disinterested facts that are presented over time as we learn more as a people on this planet.
I’m still learning. We all can.
Three: Time is an important ingredient in our food production and preparation. How do you create space in your routine to give time to growing / raising food and cooking / preserving? (Or, how are you GOING to create that time moving forward?)
Time! Anyone who grows a garden learns fast that many varieties come in all at once. Or, many plants deliver their goods at once. I love tomatoes, but last year as I followed my husband out to pick tomatoes after a long day at work and pretty much in the dark, I thought: I’m so done with this.
Then there is the time spent putting up the food. My husband often takes the lead so there are two of us doing the work, but yes, instead of a day lounging over a couple of glasses of wine at a sidewalk cafe people-watching, we’re in a steamy kitchen making a mess canning.
I have no magic recipe to tell you how to make or save time. What I can tell you is what I also find in Kingsolver’s book: Define your priorities in life and make time for them. If growing and / or sourcing your food locally is a priority, you carve out time in your schedule. And, you might have to make a choice to give something else up. We’ve made that choice and it works for us. It might not be the same for you.
In her book, Kingsolver and her family are disciplined and they do make food cultivation, preparation, and putting up food a priority. And they also offer, I believe, two key pieces of the puzzle on doing this successfully: They chunk it down as much as possible and they also make items routine. At their level of food production and preservation, they need to follow those two practices.
That’s a good model to follow. I believe that if you are trying to get a handle on making the time, but you are still struggling, scale back. Scale back a bit and when you have a handle on a few items (growing, preserving, etc.), then add one or two more items to what you want to successfully accomplish.
I do want to be honest: it does take discipline if you want to increase your success and production / preservation. You might have to say no to other things in order to reach your food goals for your family. Life involves choices, and fellow readers, we cannot have it “all.”
But we can have a lot of what we love if we prioritize and put into place planning, discipline, and rewards. Yes, there are rewards. It’s a reward to open that pasta sauce in January and say, smell this! It’s like the garden!
Those Three Questions
At the beginning of this post I asked three questions:
· One: What is American food? (Or Canadian food?)
· Two: Do you eat meat and where do your beliefs about eating or not eating meat come from?
· Three: How do you create space in your routine to give time to growing / raising food and cooking / preserving? (Or, how are you GOING to create that time moving forward?)
And we all would love to read your answers – whether you are reading this book or not!
Extra Credit
I want to add in a fourth question, because chapter 11 brought it up, but this question below felt a bit too… “College essay-ish.” But I’ll ask it here… for extra credit! (wink-wink)
“Extra Credit” – Author Kingsolver mentions the start of the “Slow Food Nation” movement (idea birthed in Italy 1989; officially founded in Paris 1989; came to the US in 2000). This concept in the US has spanned two decades now. What’s the impact – has it become part of our common culture, incorporated into daily lives – or is it still a lofty, great idea?
My answer, in short, an opinion, not a fact: I believe the work culture of the US has negatively affected the way we treat and think about food. I believe our working attitude and what we believe is necessary to be successful in our careers are the biggest driving factors in how we have drifted so far from taking time to procure / grow / raise our local food and cook lovingly and healthily. The need for “fast food” has grown as our fast lives – with little time for breakfast, lunch, or dinner – has been bolstered by an indifference to what we are putting into our bodies, because who has the time? I finally stopped eating lunch at my desk while I worked. I now have the “gift” of 30-minutes to prepare and eat my food. It’s still not enough. And I always work over 40 hours per week for my employer.
The work culture of the US has failed with regards to understanding our food production and healthy, responsible consumption. Overall, it’s failed to respect our food and our bodies. I’d love to be able to change that.
Alright, it’s YOUR turn! We want to hear from you in the comments below! What are your take-a-ways from chapters 11 through 15? Do you want to share your answers to the questions proposed above? Ready… set… comment!
Tracy
So glad you are back home safe and sound, intrepid traveler! 🙂 And thanks again for asking me to write up this book club lead in, Kristin… looking forward to the discussion!
chickenlibrarian
thank you Tracy! I’m glad to be back home and will be spending some time catching up on reading so I can (hopefully) add something meaningful to the discussion!
xoxo
-k
Bekah L Marten
1. This is a question I have thought about off and on for a long time, especially after our family’s trip to Italy a few years ago. I ended up complaining that America didn’t have an identifiable food culture like the Italians. How could that be? But the more I have thought about it, the more I realize that is exactly what makes American food American. Our country began and has continued to be a blending of so many different cultures and foods that it would be impossible to label something specifically American. I think that is the beauty of our food culture. We are creative. We take an idea from one culture’s recipe and blend it with another. For example, years ago my cousin came for a visit. He had grown up in a very Polish-American family. One evening for dinner, I made up what our family called “Jack’s Favorite Sausage Dinner” (essentially it is a sliced kielbasa stir fry with carrots, potatoes, mushrooms, zucchini, you get the picture. It was our son Jack’s favorite dinner at the time). My cousin thought it was crazy, not in a bad way, that I would make a stir fry with kielbasa. In his mind kielbasa was for being served with pierogi and sauerkraut. There are many other twists on traditions like this on restaurant menus across the country and in kitchens throughout America. So, while yes, fast food is certainly part of our American tradition, so is creativity and blending of food cultures.
I also feel that other countries have developed their food identity over hundreds or thousands of years. We have not quite had that time to develop our American food culture. And we may never. Possibly other cultures had a food identity all their own before people were even moving from region to region so freely. So food traditions were likely to stay in an area for a long time and develop there. Think about the spice and tea trades that radically shaped or refined some European food cultures when they began showing up on their docks. Food and it’s journey in a culture is a very interesting topic!
2. We do eat meat. In college I was a vegetarian for all of the usual reasons: care for animals, health of the planet, etc. When my husband and I married, I began to eat meat again. Our youngest son was a vegetarian for five years, from age seven to twelve. His reason being that while he did like meat, if you asked an animal if you could kill it and eat it, it would most likely tell you “No!” That boy has a big heart. All four of us are now eating meat again. It makes if far easier to prepare meals! We do our best to purchase quality meats. My mom and I split half a cow one to two times each year. It’s relatively easy to find wild caught fish at the market since we are close to the ocean/rivers. I had a source for locally raised chicken and pork, but they retired. So, I am still on the lookout for another one. In the meantime, I buy organic when I can afford it. I feel that our bodies operate better with animal protein. Not an overload of it, but an appropriate amount. In general, I feel that all foods (grains, fruits, vegetables, eggs, meats, etc) are meant to be consumed by humans to keep our bodies functioning their best. Eliminating an entire food group, or over consuming another doesn’t sit well with me. I think each food type offers things our bodies need.
3. Creating space for growing and preserving? For me that’s an easy one. I don’t work much outside of the home. I have a very part time job. I view my role at home as my full time job, and growing and preserving food is part of that role. I also pull my kids and husband into the task. They help plan, plant, water and harvest the garden. They help pick, peel, prep, and can the fruits and vegetables. It’s important to our family to grow and preserve what we can, so we all pitch in.
I apologize that I don’t have time to answer your extra credit question 🙂 It’s hard to pass up extra credit though!!!
Tracy
That’s exactly how I see it, Bekah! The “American Cuisine” is a beautiful mix of many cultures and ethic backgrounds coming together and blending traditional foods.
I believe (opinion here!) that one of our “American traits” is to see something interesting that’s outside of our own experience and say: Hey, that’s really awesome. I’m going to try that, too! For example, as far as I know, there’s no real French ancestry in my family tree, but I love trying my hand at French dishes. (All hail, Julia Child!) And, I admire their perspectives on food – their respect and reverence for excellent ingredients and the appreciation for the meal time. So I make that a part of my American perspective.
You also make a very good point: so many countries had centuries to develop their dishes and traditions in isolation. So there you go. That’s how the Italians developed their cuisine, the Germans theirs, and so on. Fast forward to the wobbly toddler: the US. Now we have immediate communication, easy world travel, and many different origins living under one American roof. Better? Worse? Neither! American Cuisine, for our pleasure.
PS: My mother used to do stir-fry and kielbasa, too!
My husband was a vegetarian (although he ate fish, certainly sushi) for about 12 years. This was before we met. His reasons, as he told me, was that at that time he was not aware of any options like local or humanely-raised meat. Any organic choices – and there were not many – were way to expensive. So he opted for a vegetarian (again, with fish from time to time) diet.
Now we do buy organic, but I’d like to find a reliable source of local beef, chicken, and pork that I trust, or maybe return to the original farmer I used to buy from. I don’t know. I can’t decide.
There’s a reputable website called https://www.localharvest.org/ where you can search for farms near you, Bekah. I wonder if you would have luck with finding a local resource for meat that you could trust via this website? Might be a place to start!
Thanks for sharing your ideas and thoughts here! Much appreciated! 😀
chickenlibrarian
Hey bookgroupers! I promise to be back tomorrow to join in the discussion, but I have some housekeeping items.
First, do you all have access to skype? We can group skype if you would like to wrap up our discussion via group chat.
Second, how does Tuesday March 10th work for everyone? If we do a group chat we will schedule it for the evening so those of you on the West coast can participate. Otherwise I’ll do a wrap up blog post and we can discuss it from there.
And finally, what do you want to read and discuss next? I’m wide open to ideas!
Til tomorrow friends.
xoxo
k
chickenlibrarian
Okay. So here we are a few days(!) late! I want to answer Tracy’s questions AND continue Bekah’s conversation in one post. You ladies have given me some really good food for thought so this might be a little jumbled. Here goes nothing!
1. What is American Food? I agree with Tracy and Bekah and Kingsolver for that matter that America doesn’t have a defined food. I think it’s mostly for the reasons that have been stated…our country is young. Our country is BUSY. Our food is defined by regions or by regional culture. BUT what we didn’t mention, well, we kinda did, is that our country is large. When you think of other cultures you are thinking smaller land mass. I think that’s why we have such regional food cultures. Buffalo wings, BBQ, all the things that have been mentioned.
But I also think that we do have the reputation of giving fast food to the world. We can’t look past the fact that our culture and country lives on fast food for all the reasons mentioned above. It’s funny how, with my very limited world traveling, that the fast food restaurants of the world have specific-to-them menu items though. We’ve even seen lobster rolls on the menu at McDonald’s in New England. I can’t remember what was on the menu in Germany, but there were very specific German items…maybe a brats sandwich?
I know in our household we cook whatever we feel like. One night might be homemade meatballs with homemade pasta sauce (and boxed pasta unless I feel like making homemade pasta). The next night we might do kielbasa and sauerkraut. The next a stir fry. Then a stew or soup. So we aren’t locked into one region or culture. But we do tend to eat the typical American diet as well: burgers, hot dogs, corn on the cob, etc. etc.
2. Do you eat meat and where do your beliefs for doing such come from? Well, I’m sure you know the answer to this! We do eat meat, although the Mister likes meat way more than I do. I tend to eat no meat during the day and then for dinner we have meat and veg. I guess my belief came from growing up eating meat. But as I grew older I realized that I wanted to change the way we sourced our meat. I was a vegetarian for a bit before I met the Mister. Now I try to source our meat from a local farm. I’m still working on finding a local source for chicken. Although I do have friends who are starting to raise their own chickens and I’m wondering about a) purchasing from them if they have enough or b) purchasing chicks, having them raise them, and I can help with the costs of growing out the birds and then help with butchering. And as you may know, I started hunting last fall. I harvested my first deer. It will provide meat for our family for the year to come. I also order half a pig and my ground beef from our local farmstead.
But can we talk about being a vegetarian for just a minute? Here’s where I get..hmm..confused maybe? So you don’t eat meat, which I ‘get’ and understand, but instead of eating locally and sustainably raised meat, you eat processed meat substitutes? That doesn’t really make sense to me. Or in an effort to eat better, there are a lot of processed or speciality items out there. I can’t afford those. I can afford to purchase my meat in bulk from my local farmer but I can’t afford speciality flour, nuts, grains, etc. And I’m not judging. I am just asking how that works and how that’s better. Maybe someone can jump in and we can have a convo about that?
Tracy brought up a really good point (was in under question 2 or 3?) about MAKING the time to do what is important to you. I know I get really, really lazy and don’t do the things that are important to me. I say lazy which is true sometimes but mostly I think it comes from a lack of planning and being busy. I started my own business last year because I didn’t want to go to an office and work for someone else. Plus I’ve had this dream of having a homesteading business for years now and the timing was right so I jumped in with both feet. I know I’ve talked about it here before where I don’t take the time to plan my meals, especially on a day when I’m traveling. I’m getting better about that and we don’t eat out nearly as much as we used to (maybe once per month now compared with once per week before) but I still don’t think my diet is where I want it to be. It’s lacking in a well balanced fruits and veggies. Which I think takes us right into question 3!
3. How do you create space in your routine to give time to growing / raising food and cooking / preserving? (Or, how are you GOING to create that time moving forward?) Well, I started that above but I’ll continue it here. We, obviously, preserve a lot of things. I want to expand my garden this year and try to preserve our veggies for the year, whether that means freezing or canning, but I want it to be available without going to the store. My ultimate goal would be to only need the store for ‘speciality’ items such as capers, olives, olive oil, etc. etc. But, as I mentioned above, I get lazy and don’t plan ahead. I’m hoping that throughout this year I can get better at it.
As for who participates, the Mister and I both do. He cans the tomatoes and green beans and I pretty much do the rest. I grow the food, forage the food, find the food, and he helps preserve it.
Extra Credit: What’s the impact (of the Slow Food Movement)– has it become part of our common culture, incorporated into daily lives – or is it still a lofty, great idea? I actually think that it has made an impact. You are seeing more and more farm-to-table movements. I see a lot of farmers, homesteaders, and people in between–those who don’t grow their own but support those who do. Most of our friends are in one or more of these categories–they grow their own AND support those who do. We’re lucky to live in an area that has been seeing this movement for a few years now. BUT as Tracy pointed out, there are still a lot of people who are too busy to make this a priority. Or who don’t see it as a priority for whatever reason. But we are also seeing the health implications of those who aren’t making it a priority. But how do we change it? That’s the question.
Tracy–thank you so much for doing this. Your post was so thoughtful and well planned out. I like your approach. I like the explanation of the chapters and then the thought out questions. Kudos to you!
I hope we can continue this conversation. I know we’ve lost some momentum but I’m hopeful we’ll get it back once everyone is back from their respective breaks, trips, time away.
Til then
xoxo
-k