the way we eat: books that changed my behavior

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver
I read this in April 2010 with my excellent book group (I miss you, ladies!). It's a documentation of how Barbara Kingsolver and her family lived off the land for a year. They ate only local food and whatever they grew or raised themselves. It lit a fire under me. I wanted to do the experiment myself, to live it. I wanted my own plot of land in West Virginia. I couldn't believe I had never learned anything about what foods grow in which seasons. Why is this not taught in schools? Or is it now? It was because of this book that I grew my first garden that summer and am committed to growing something whenever I can, even while I live in a tiny, sunless apartment.

The China Study by T. Colin Campbell
This was recommended to me by a nutritionist friend and again by a marathon runner friend after they'd heard my thoughts on Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. (To me, anyone who can run nonstop for longer than three minutes is worth listening to, maybe even worthy of worship. Does this reveal anything about me?) It's fairly scientific and admittedly I skimmed some of it to get to the good stuff. But good science is very convincing to me and as far as I could determine, this was very convincing. It's a "plant-based diet" book. I went vegan for a month last fall because of this book and I loved how I felt (AND it wasn't nearly as expensive as I thought--we actually spent a bit less on groceries). Since then we've been eating meat maybe once or twice a week on average. I also try to be careful about the amount of milk and cheese we consume, because the book seems to make out dairy as being even worse than meat, but I LOVE cheese. Hmm.

The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan
I would say this wasn't quite as transformative as the other two, but what I really loved about it was the section about Joel Salatin's farm. I wish the farm was next door to me. I wish all of our food was produced this way. I even wish, sometimes, to have a farm just like that one. Because of this book, I went and found farms nearby that sold 100% grass-fed, sustainably-raised beef. I have plans to take the kids to the farm, educate them about where food comes from (not just magically fabricated, packaged, and delivered by the grocery fairies to a Kroger near you), and maybe pick out "our" cow. It's not fun for me to imagine looking into the eyes of my future hamburger (those gentle, innocent eyes!), but how can I truly appreciate the blessing of delicious meat unless I understand its true and cosmic cost?

When Jared and I were in college, a religion professor of ours invited us to work on his farm on a Saturday. This event culminated with the beheading of a turkey by a couple of brave freshman boys. There was a tour of the turkey's living conditions, a last meal, a discussion of the meaning of life, a prayer of gratitude, and a very reverent, and very exciting, handling of the animal itself. Jared and I got to take it home, dress it, roast it, and share it with some loved ones. It might sound weird, but it was definitely special to have seen the whole process and know exactly what I was eating.

So all this is to say: we try to eat good food. To me that means mostly plants, animal products sparingly. Whole foods, real foods, whatever you want to call them. We grind our own flour, make our own bread, eat lots of beans, and we eat often to keep our blood sugars at a reasonable level. But we're not extreme about it. There is currently a large stash of trunk or treat Halloween candy in the cupboard which we fully intend to devour, and yesterday was spent making and frosting sugar cookies to eat and share with our friends. In my mind, all those healthy, veggie-packed dinners make up a little bit for the cookies and candy I don't want to give up just now. We do what we can, right?

So have you read any or all of these books? What are your guiding principles about food?