Wow. We love Lily.
Chapter 6 of Animal, Vegetable, Miracle may not have been the most informative thus far, but it was definitely the most entertaining -- thanks to Barbara Kingsolver's youngest daughter, Lily, and her chicken/horse obsession.
(Did you notice how her chick-related absence was "Excused, Agriculture" -- pretty cool.)
Seriously though, Kingsolver's daughters are both quite impressive. We've already mentioned our love for Lily and her entrepreneurial ways, but what about Camille?
We were mighty impressed by her sidebar in Chapter 5, "Getting it While You Can."
We especially loved her revelation about seasonal fruit -- when fresh strawberries finally appeared at the farmers market, she didn't wait and ask herself the normal questions :"Hmm, do I really want berries today? Are they overpriced? Are they going to mold the minute I get home?"
Nope -- she simply bought them. This is a pretty subtle, but interesting observation about how eating and shopping seasonally can change our habits.
What do you think? What else stood out to you in Chapters 5 & 6?
For next week: Two chapters a week seems like a nice speed. What do you think? Chapters 7 & 8 for next week!
Catch up on the discussion:
• Chapters 3 & 4
• Chapter 2
• Chapter 1
Image: Via Judy Roberson; sxc.hu
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The sidebar with Camille really caught my eye and reminded me of myself. Far too often, I'll spot something delicious at the store (usually fresh fruit or veggie), I'll buy it because it sounds good that day or I hope it will in the next few days. In the end, I usually don't end up eating even half of what I get and it drives me (and my wallet) crazy. Eating on a more seasonal schedule would take some education, practice, and discipline, but I think it would be worth it all in the end ... not just for me, but the planet as well (of course).
Lily and her chickens were adorable! I've always wanted to live on a working "farm" and having baby chicks. My mom grew up on one in Indiana, but we never got to have one wen I was a kid. Trying to draw the line between pets and food/business and family would be a hard one for me. I'm working on converting to vegetarianism and even if I didn't name the chicks, it would be very difficult for me not to think about their cute, fluffy selves, even when they got older and weren't so fluffy.
I've consistently enjoyed Steven's sidebars, though they are usually the most shocking as far as stats go.
The conversation about tobacco farmers really made me think. I am not a fan of tobacco at all, especially since my father was addicted to cigarettes and fed me a lot of second-hand smoke when I was a kid. Still, there are a lot of factors when it comes to production, whether it be food, clothing, or "recreational" things like cigarettes.
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