Animal, Vegetable Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver

I received an Advanced Readers Copy of Animal, Vegetable, Miracle to review in May from the good folks at Harper Collins Canada.

Here is my review:

Whether you are a food novice, or a 'foodie'...
This book has been a long time coming, the perfect introduction to those interested in the vital issues at hand in our present food production system. As a food producer myself, I was delighted to see such a wide variety of topics covered, from heritage seeds to heritage livestock (we raise heritage cattle). The author is clearly passionate about food and conservation, yet doesn't come across as preachy and didactic, but rather leads readers into a delightful adventure as her family discovers all that the local foodscape has to offer. Even for experienced food lovers, involved in local foods, supporting family farms and other food-centric activities, there are treasures to be found. Delightful recipes (which may not all be applicable depending upon your bio-region), first hand encounters with the exotic morel (hard to come by here), and all the charms of reading about another family producing some of their own food.

I do have one warning - Christian readers will likely be slightly offended at the off-hand and at times disrespectful attitude towards God our creator, and the looking down the nose attitude towards those who believe in creation rather than the religion of evolution.

Kingsolver writes in a brisk, readable style, full of laugh out loud moments, never having read her before I was delighted with her writing voice, witty and entertaining.

This book is a must read for those interested in any aspect of food production and farming in our current cultural climate, while written from a U.S. perspective, Canada faces nearly all of the same issues, some perhaps to a greater extent (our food still travels from Mexico, but heads farther North, our farmers also work full time jobs to subsidize low prices on food crops). This will likely be an eye opener for many who still have pictures of idyllic family farms in mind when thinking of food production, while they still exist, this is far from the norm.

Unfortunately, I won't be adding this b ook to my inventory, I have family members lined up to read it :).

Jennifer Bogart