I finally ordered and read the other locavore book, The Omnivore's Dilemma, by Michael Pollan. Like Kingsolver, Pollan is an exceptional writer and his story is well-told. While he provides a plethora of research details, it is never boring; in fact, it's fascinating. If you really want to know where your food comes from (mostly corn) and why it comes that way, read this book.
One of the things I took away from the book is that farming doesn't really scale well past a certain point. Factory farms and feedlots are not in the best interests of the country, the environment, the economy, and the health and well-being of the eaters (us).
One of the book's segments discusses Polyface Farm in Swoope, VA, a model of sustainability. The farm belongs to Joel Salatin, who is one guy I'd love to meet. I wish there were more farms adopting Salatin's model.
Among many other things, Salatin said, "We don't need a law against McDonald's or a law against slaughterhouse abuse--we ask for too much salvation by legislation. All we need to do is empower individuals with the right philosophy and the right information to opt out en masse."
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There are small farms following the Polyface model - Meadowstone Farm in Brooklyn is one of them. They do pastured chickens, pasture eggs, raw goatmilk, raw & pasteurized goat & cow milk cheeses, berries, soaps, honey, etc.
Thanks Ricky, for letting me know. Perhaps in the spring I'll make the trek out to Brooklyn, CT (in the quiet northeast corner of the state) for a visit.
I did have an opportunity to sample their cheeses (at the Michael Pollan event) and thought they were delicious--I made sure to purchase a few to take home!
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