Tom Lehrer’s song on pollution (youtube)
Michael Pollan on the revolutionary act of gardening. (I have yet to read a book by Pollan - its always checked out at the library. But his articles have…actually changed my life and my way of thinking.)
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I saw the authors of “Plenty” speak last summer in San Francisco. It was fascinating how far they went to find local grains, salt and fruit. Pollan’s books have gotten me to think twice about eating meat. I won’t eat red meat/pork. In Chinatown one afternoon this man walked past me carrying a huge pig on his shoulder (dead) with that USDA or USAG stamp in a circle. I thought of Pollan’s book and changed my mind.
My grandma has an amazing organic garden. She used to spend hours in the garden when we were kids digging up dirt, pouring the okara into the soil and cross-polinating fruits. And her vegetables tasted great and she never used chemical fertilizers.
Comment by sfordinarygirl — April 29, 2008 @ 12:19 pm
I never thought that I would be someone who wanted to grow vegetables, but right now I’m reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle and I have to admit, it sounds kind of enticing.
Comment by arduous — April 29, 2008 @ 12:30 pm
I began reading Plenty yesterday when waiting for a farmer to give a talk on sustainable farming (which was sooo interesting and fun to listen to) and I can totally relate to the authors of Plenty. I had heard about the 100 mile diet awhile back, and I’ve been limiting food miles thanks to them.
Kingsolver is another person who really made a HUGE impact on my thinking. She made me want to have a mini plot of land and grow as much as I could and encouraged my otherwise scaredy poo self to talk to farmers at the market.
Comment by Beany — April 29, 2008 @ 1:12 pm
I recommend starting with an early book of Pollan’s, “Second Nature.” It documents his introduction to gardening. It’s from the early 90s so not as likely to be a waiting list for it (though there might, it’s certainly still a relevant and inspiring read). Then I recommend “The Botany of Desire” which is also from a few years ago. Omnivore’s Dilemma is great, worth being on the waiting list for (and I haven’t read In Defense of Food yet), but you can probably find/enjoy his earlier books while waiting for those later ones to come available.
Comment by Sue in the Western Great Basin — April 29, 2008 @ 10:51 pm
I placed Second Nature on hold (all of Pollan’s books are out, but I’m on the hold queue).
Comment by Beany — April 30, 2008 @ 5:28 am
The CSA article was interesting. Our CSA does the lower income share thing, in theory, supported by the reg. shareholders. But honestly, I’m not sure how many, if any, shares go to poorer families because the distribution center is in a very wealthy neighborhood and there is absolutely no advertising. Most people have had a share for years and there is very little turnover. There is a waiting list for people trying to get in…making me think they aren’t allowing much room for lower income shares.
Comment by organicneedle — April 30, 2008 @ 8:01 am
Love all Pollan’s books. Love all his radio interviews. Love all his talks. Yes, I am a fan
I still wonder about gardening though. I understand that you can’t get more local than your backyard and people enjoy gardening. But in economic terms, it may not be wise thing to do, as it is pretty expensive to grow your own garden - tools, seeds, soil treatment, water, etc. The yield is probably fairly low. We just started this year, already we bought a few books on gardening and pest management, tools, compost, soil test kit, seeds. Water is fair intense in norther CA since it doesn’t rain from May to end of Oct. We still enjoy doing the process though. I wonder if someone has calculated the economics side of personal gardening.
Comment by CindyW — April 30, 2008 @ 11:47 pm
Organicneedle: I have never been able to get into a CSA either (fills up too quick) and the only way I’ve heard of them is via the internet. Not sure how one without internet access would hear of CSAs.
Here one of the two(?) organizations that organizes farmers’ markets has a goal of reaching all sectors of the city. This means getting local, fresh product into the local corner store where lower income people could have access to them.
Cindy: J.D. at Get Rich Slowly has been calculating the cost of his gardening efforts…that’s the only one I’ve read/heard of.
Here in Philly someone started a tool library modeled on the one in Berkley IIRC. If gardening tools are too expensive, a tool library one could be started so more than one person could benefit from the purchase of these tools. The same could be said for books.
Comment by Beany — May 1, 2008 @ 5:35 am
We have a meeting next Sat. I’m going to ask about the low income shares…how many are given and how they find people. Not sure what the response will be.
Comment by organicneedle — May 1, 2008 @ 8:16 am