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Bezig met laden... Gaining Ground: A Story of Farmers' Markets, Local Food, and Saving the Family Farmdoor Forrest Pritchard
Food Memoirs (48) Bezig met laden...
Meld je aan bij LibraryThing om erachter te komen of je dit boek goed zult vinden. Op dit moment geen Discussie gesprekken over dit boek. A humble, and sometimes bumbling, adventure in saving the family farm. With all the advances in technology and knowledge in the quest to dominate nature, sometimes the best efforts are merely to follow nature's lead. A quick, inspiring read that turns the head on economics: supply and demand...sometimes demand must be ignored if you are to have anything left to supply. ( ) Gaining Ground is a memoir written by Forrest Pritchard, recounting his efforts to save his family farm in the Shenandoah Valley. It was decently written, and a quick read. I'm not sure I really learned anything new or was particularly inspired by the book, maybe because I have read many similar books. It was fairly run of the mill as far as farming memoirs go, and at times read a little too much like an adventure novel for my tastes. Pritchard is no doubt a passionate and dedicated farmer, committed to making the sustainable, local food movement succeed. I wish I had half the ambition and stick-to-it-iveness he has. I have no farm experience. I've rarely even thought for a moment about living on a farm. So when I set out to read this book about Pritchard's experiences in running his family's farm, I expected it to be kind of boring. I was pleasantly surprised. Prichard was an English major in college and he does know how to write well, so that helped. He also had quite a few crazy experiences that may not all be laugh out loud funny, but overall paint a picture of a pretty disastrous path to success. I really enjoyed this and found it a fairly quick read for nonfiction (which I don't read all that much of). It reads more like a memoir or novel than you might expect, and is not overly preachy about choosing to buy local. If his experiences don't convince you, he isn't going to bother preaching to you about it, which I found refreshing. Not that he doesn't give you plenty of reasons throughout as to why local farmers' markets and buying from family farms is good, but he isn't shoving it down your throat. He's simply recounting his own experiences and I'm glad he did.
For all of the unnecessary violence and for all Pritchard’s failure to think in consistent ethical terms about animals, it nonetheless occurred to me that, in conveying his journey, he is — in a weird way — extending a friendly hand to animal rights advocates. He’s saying — no, he’s showing — that his paradigm, although it kills sentient animals, is better than the dominant paradigm, which kills more animals under worse conditions. He’s saying that his passion for honest agriculture and his ability to sustain a meaningful vocation is a critical step in the direction of a future agricultural model that leaves room for a fuller conception of justice. Animals might not be treated with ethical consistency on Pritchard’s farm, but the minimal suffering they endure can be seen as a down payment on a future in which they don’t suffer at all.
One fateful day in 1996, upon discovering that five freight cars’ worth of glittering corn have reaped a tiny profit of $18.16, young Forrest Pritchard undertakes to save his family’s farm. What ensues—through hilarious encounters with all manner of livestock and colorful local characters—is a crash course in sustainable agriculture. Pritchard’s biggest ally is his renegade father, who initially questions his son’s career choice and eschews organic foods for sugary mainstream fare. But just when the farm starts to turn heads at local markets, his father’s health takes a turn for the worse. With poetry and humor, this timely memoir tugs on the heartstrings and feeds the soul long after the last page is turned. Geen bibliotheekbeschrijvingen gevonden. |
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Google Books — Bezig met laden... GenresDewey Decimale Classificatie (DDC)630.92Technology Agriculture & related technologies Agriculture Biography; History By Place BiographyLC-classificatieWaarderingGemiddelde:
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