In a nation trained to consider convenience foods in lieu of seasonal shopping, menu planning, and regular cooking, Kingsolver's suggestions can sound heretical.Ĭamille writes of ". In a state devastated by the demise of tobacco farming, this is more than a gesture toward personal well-being. The Kingsolvers round out their home-grown foods with strawberries, honey, and rhubarb from their local farmers, keeping their food dollars close to home.
Kingsolver refrains from preaching even as she impresses upon the reader the need to buy local foods and shop farmer's markets. Why, Kingsolver asks, would any child prefer denatured broccoli shipped cross-country to an alluringly sweet soft drink? What reasonable child would eat badly prepared greens? What can consumers do to better enjoy their chard? As they are walking along, Lily spots a sure sign of spring: "Oh, Mama," Lily cried, "Look what's about to bloom - the tranquils."įrom here it's a long discussion of Seed Savers, genetically modified foods, and governmental complicity in getting as much corn syrup into every American man, woman, and child as possible. But wet, muddy April brings asparagus, sending Barbara and Lily out into the rain, where they set out their seedling flats. Fresh, local food selections are slim, and Kingsolver fears for the entire enterprise. The Kingsolver clan begins their local adventure in March. Camille's chapter-closing essays counter these sobering reports with humor, loving insight into her parents' seemingly outlandish food practices (home sausage making! canning!), wonderful recipes, and seasonal weekly meal plans. Kingsolver writes the majority of the book, with Hopp adding informative sidebars on biodiversity, farming practices, agribusiness, real solutions for world hunger, and the political benefits (to some) of mass-produced foodstuffs. Bread and cheese making follow amazingly, Kingsolver manages to breed turkeys. Lily raises chickens, displaying astonishing business acumen and a sure hand at her egg-selling enterprise. There the family cultivates vegetables and fruits, culls morels from a back field, and tends the asparagus patch. Hopp, Barbara, 19-year-old Camille, and nine-year old Lily - packing up their Tucson home and reverse migrating to Hopp's land. The journey begins literally, with the family - biologist Steven L. Hopp and Camille KingsolverĪnimal, Vegetable, Miracle chronicles the Kingsolver-Hopp family's resolution to step off the petroleum grid for one year, eating only local, sustainably produced meats, fruits, and vegetables either from or near their Kentucky farm. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Lifeīy Barbara Kingsolver with Steven L.
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