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Item Information
Edition: Paperback
Format: recipes, bibliography, index
Pages: 6 x 9, 240 pages
ISBN: 9781931498241
Old ISBN: 1-931498-24-5
Publisher: Chelsea Green Publishing
Release Date: 2001-06-01
This Organic Life
Confessions of a Suburban Homesteader
Joan GussowThis item is available in the following formats:
- Paperback (You are currently viewing this edition)
- Hardcover
"For many years, as I've worked hard to raise some of my family's food and attend closely to the sources of the rest of it, doubtful observers have asked me why I bother when stores nearby sell anything in any season, cheaply. I've struggled to explain that this effort is for me a matter of moral responsibility. From now on I'll simply hand them a copy of This Organic Life."
—Barbara Kingsolver
Joan Dye Gussow is an extraordinarily ordinary woman. She lives in a home not unlike the average home in a neighborhood that is, more or less, typically suburban. What sets her apart from the rest of us is that she thinks more deeply--and in more eloquent detail--about food. In sharing her ponderings, she sets a delightful example for those of us who seek the healthiest, most pleasurable lifestyle within an environment determined to propel us in the opposite direction. Joan is a suburbanite with a green thumb, with a feisty, defiant spirit and a relentlessly positive outlook.
At the heart of This Organic Life is the premise that locally grown food eaten in season makes sense economically, ecologically, and gastronomically. Transporting produce to New York from California--not to mention Central and South America, Australia, or Europe--consumes more energy in transit than it yields in calories. (It costs 435 fossil fuel calories to fly a 5-calorie strawberry from California to New York.) Add in the deleterious effects of agribusiness, such as the endless cycle of pesticide, herbicide, and chemical fertilizers; the loss of topsoil from erosion of over-tilled croplands; depleted aquifers and soil salinization from over-irrigation; and the arguments in favor of "this organic life" become overwhelmingly convincing.
Joan's story is funny and fiery as she points out the absurdities we have unthinkingly come to accept. You won't find an electric can opener in this woman's house. In fact, you probably won't find many cans, as Joan has discovered ways to nourish herself, literally and spiritually, from her own backyard. If you are looking for a tale of courage and independence in a setting that is entirely familiar, read her story.
About the Author
A highly acclaimed nutritionist whose work has been published in Country
Journal and Annals of Earth, Joan Dye Gussow is
living testimony that eating well year-round from an average-sized lot in the
suburbs of Piermont, New York, is both possible and desirable. To live this
civilized version of "the good life" involves no sacrifice of variety or taste, and
only enhances life's sensual pleasures and one's mental outlook.
"I prefer butter to margarine, because I trust cows more than I trust chemists."
—Joan Dye Gussow
Other eco-cuisine books from Chelsea Green
Whole Foods Companion: A Guide for Adventurous Cooks, Curious Shoppers, and Lovers of Natural Foods
Wild Fermentation: The Flavor, Nutrition, and Craft of Live-Culture Foods
Holy Cows and Hog Heaven: The Food Buyer's Guide to Farm Friendly Food
American Farmstead Cheese: The Complete Guide to Making and Selling Artisan Cheeses
Slow Food:Collected Thoughts on Taste, Tradition, and the Honest Pleasure of Food
The Artful Eater: A Gourmet Investigates the Ingredients of Great Food