This Blessed Earth by Ted Genoways

This Blessed Earth: A Year in the Life of an American Family Farm by Ted Genoways
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I am perhaps more interested in this topic than the average reader. I moved to Nebraska about 6 months ago, and I've been trying to read more about Nebraska in general. Being fairly proximate to the farms (actually, I was close to farms in Long Island too) I'm especially interested in Nebraskan farming, and American farming in general. I'm especially disturbed by corporate ownership of seeds and specific plant genetic-variations.

Right when we moved here, our government started a trade war with China, which resulted in difficulty selling Nebraskan soybeans at good prices. The book ends right at about that point, and I'm interested in how that problem has developed.

Even with my very specific interest in this topic though, I felt like the book progressed slowly. Also, there was only one family member that I felt was sufficiently developed/described for me to take an interest in.

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Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life by Barbara Kingsolver
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book is excellent. It's not just another eat-real-food book to make us feel bad about the horror of the food industry in our country. This book is inspirational, scientifically accurate, apolitical, and beautifully written. She practices what she preaches too (though she's not very preachy), so the book is full of her own challenges and reflections on eating locally. Her daughters have clearly gained a lot from this way of life as well. This is a new nonfiction favorite for me.

It remains to be seen if I can implement some of the changes she's inspired, but I'm very optimistic I'll at least make some small but meaningful changes thanks to the book.

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