what to read in 2009?

My friend just asked me tonight for some good book suggestions....well anyone who knows me knows I read A LOT....I always have this GREAT NEW BOOK you HAVE TO READ. I think everyone has heard it so much they have begun ignoring my great new book talk....So now I will just tell EVERYONE....And if you read it and like it-let me know!

First of all-for Christmas my wonderful sister in law gave me two books because she is a book junky too and we love to read a lot of the same stuff. Animal Vegetable Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver has been a HUGE eye opener for me. I feel like everything I have ever thought in a million different moments is all in her book. There is so much valuable information, you just have to read it and then have your own "A HA" moments. Currently I am reading In Defense Of Food-An Eater's Manifesto by Michael Pollan who also wrote The Omnivore's Dilemma which I will be shoving my nose into next. Because I am a mom of three, (my youngest being a baby of 4 months), people always have to ask that "So how are you sleeping" question or "Are you getting enough sleep?" And the honest truth is-I would get MORE SLEEP if I did not read so much. I have a serious reading problem. I take books with me everywhere...in the car-just in case I get stuck say at the gas station or my husband wants to run an errand and I have to sit and wait-Ah, I can read...I have secretly been known to read waiting at stop lights but that is another story and one I don't discuss often. You know how you see people brushing their teeth or shaving on the road-I am the one reading. When you are as busy as I am with three kids, three dogs, a fish, a cat and a husband who assumes you know how to handle just about everything in the house-you will use any "red light" to get one more paragraph in.....I hope my kids don't do everything I do....I also read while in the bathtub, taking care of any bathroom business and blowing my hair dry. I don't know why my other sister-in-law ( I have five of them) thinks this is so strange. I don't need a mirror to dry my hair in front of-just a really good book!

And now you are wondering what these books have to do with saving the world? Read up....

Oily Food

"Americans put almost as much fossil fuel into our refrigerators as our cars. We’re consuming about 400 gallons of oil a year per citizen – about 17% of our nation’s energy use – for agriculture, a close second to our vehicular use. Tractors, combines, harvesters, irrigation, sprayers, tillers, balers, and other equipment all use petroleum. Even bigger gas guzzlers on the farm are not the machines, but so-called inputs. Synthetic fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides use oil and natural gas as their starting materials, and in their manufacturing. More than a quarter of all farming energy goes into synthetic fertilizers.


But getting the crop from seed to harvest takes only one fifth of the total oil used for our food. The lion’s share is consumed during the trip from the farm to your plate. Each food item in a typical U.S. meal has traveled an average of 1500 miles. In addition to direct transport, other fuel-thirsty steps include processing (drying, milling, cutting, sorting, baking), packaging, warehousing and refrigeration. Energy calories consumed by production, packaging and shipping far outweigh the energy calories we receive from the food.

A quick way to improve food-related fuel economy would be to buy a quart of motor oil and drink it. More palatable options are available. If every U.S. citizen ate just one meal a week (any meal) composed of locally and organically raised meats and produce, we would reduce our country’s oil consumption by over 1.1 million barrels of oil every week. That’s not gallons, but barrels. Small changes in buying habits can make big differences. Becoming a less energy-dependent nation may just need to start with a good breakfast."

Steven L. Hopp- Animal, Vegetable, Miracle