12/14 Books You Can Eat Up
I recently learned of both of these books and thought they would be wonderful gifts for anyone in your life that is interested in or fanatical about food; Where it comes from and why that matters.
I am sharing a review and introduction of The Orchard in its entirety originally posted on This Dish is Veg. It was written by Erica Settino. It was her review that made me want to call in to work, buy the book and read the day away. Thank you Erica.
When I first picked up Theresa Weir’s newest book, The Orchard, I thought I was in for the traditional memoir experience. It is after all, my favorite genre, and one not that many people have been able to master as artfully as Weir. I was prepared for the subtly veiled, yet almost voyeuristic glimpse into the author’s most private thoughts and memories. I mean this is why we love memoir, right? And although Weir exposes enough of her personal life to quench even my insatiable appetite, The Orchard is as much about her life, as it is the lives of those affected by the heavy weight of familial responsibility, and the sometimes devastating consequences of expectation.
Weir is an artist. She blends form and composition with language and vivid, visceral imagery. Her tone is pitch-perfect, her pace measured and sure, so much so that by the time you realize she is educating us about the disarming realities of pesticides you are already in love with her, her husband, and their quaint fairytale cottage that sits lovely, in the middle of an orchard that held the promise of forever. It is not to be missed.
About the book: The Orchard is the story of a street-smart city girl who must adapt to a new life on an apple farm after she falls in love with Adrian Curtis, the golden boy of a prominent local family whose lives and orchards seem to be cursed. Married after only three months, young Theresa finds life with Adrian on the farm far more difficult and dangerous than she expected. Rejected by her husband’s family as an outsider, she slowly learns for herself about the isolated world of farming, pesticides, environmental destruction, and death, even as she falls more deeply in love with her husband, a man she at first hardly knew and the land that has been in his family for generations. She becomes a reluctant player in their attempt to keep the codling moth from destroying the orchard, but she and Adrian eventually come to know that their efforts will not only fail but will ultimately take an irreparable toll.
Here is the other book that piqued my curiosity. The following description is taken from Amazon. It sucked me into wanting to know more.
Tomatoland: How Modern Industrialization Destroyed our Most Alluring Fruit
By Barry Etsabrook
Supermarket produce sections bulging with a year-round supply of perfectly round, bright red-orange tomatoes have become all but a national birthright. But in , Tomatoland which is based on his James Beard Award-winning article, “The Price of Tomatoes,” investigative food journalist Barry Estabrook reveals the huge human and environmental cost of the $5 billion fresh tomato industry. Fields are sprayed with more than one hundred different herbicides and pesticides. Tomatoes are picked hard and green and artificially gassed until their skins acquire a marketable hue. Modern plant breeding has tripled yields, but has also produced fruits with dramatically reduced amounts of calcium, vitamin A, and vitamin C, and tomatoes that have fourteen times more sodium than the tomatoes our parents enjoyed. The relentless drive for low costs has fostered a thriving modern-day slave trade in the United States. How have we come to this point?
They both sound like great reads and unique gifts for (yourself) anyone on your list.
Have a delicious day.
Tags: compassionate eating, gifts for foodies, going veg, plant based diet, The Orchard a Memoir, This Dish Is Veg, Tomatoland How Modern Industrialization Destroyed Our Most Alluring Fruit, vegan challenge, vegan experience, vegan gifts, vegan wannabe, vegetarian holiday gifts
