An Omnivore's Dilemma thread (the book by Michael Pollan)

[Buster52]

I read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver, first, and that spurred my wife and me to purchase our farm. We have been moving in this direction for a long time with small steps due to friends on other forums. For that reason I have to say AVM had a much larger impact on us than OD.

AVM got me going in this direction. But Pollan's book helped refine the plan and inspire other areas of it. It also introduced us to sustainable agriculture and folks like Joel Salatin. I was so impressed with Pollan's description of Polyface that I immediately ILLed and read Salatin's Pastured Poultry Profits and that has certainly influenced my approach to poultry, especially meat birds.

I didn't find Dilemma dense at all. In fact, it felt short to me, mostly because I couldn't get enough of it. I drank it down like a cool refreshment that it is. I have even begun re-reading it.

 

[Buster52]

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I hope you have had a chance to look at John Jeavons' books. The goal there is 99% sustainability and closed systems. I have just started Biointensive this year and I'm loving it.

 

[Lady Henevere]

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I didn't have a problem with Omnivore's Dilemma either, but one friend (who is brilliant but has a touch of ADD) complained it was too dense to be enjoyable and another friend (who is wonderful but not necessarily the brightest girl on earth) thought it was a tough read. My point is simply that if you can read the whole thing, do. If it's dense and boring at times, skim. But don't give up on it -- the information is great and you will be glad you learned what you did.

As for John Jeavon's books, I looked at them but haven't read them. I'd like to get away from raised beds and work mostly perennials right into my landscape, and I was thinking that the biointensive thing was mostly about raised beds. I will take another look though -- thanks for the recommendation.

 

[weaveagarden]

I agree it is a lot of material to cover. I listened to it on tape, but did so over the course of a week. The information is very interesting. But after a few hours, I found I didn't remember what I just heard.

This is the kind of book that if you own it - you can go back over and over to refresh what you need at any given time. Since I am a concepts type of person, rather than exact detail, I find myself trying to tell people about it and can't remember the details. So it would be great to be able to go back into it and relearn the whys for the concepts I have stored well.

 

[Buster52]

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I didn't have a problem with Omnivore's Dilemma either, but one friend (who is brilliant but has a touch of ADD) complained it was too dense to be enjoyable and another friend (who is wonderful but not necessarily the brightest girl on earth) thought it was a tough read. My point is simply that if you can read the whole thing, do. If it's dense and boring at times, skim. But don't give up on it -- the information is great and you will be glad you learned what you did.

Well, I'm a librarian, so maybe that made a difference as well. Books are the tools of my trade.

 

[FrenchHen]

I thought it was great. I read it and it left me wanting more. I haven't read AVM yet, but it's been recommended to me.

 

[PotterWatch]

I haven't read it yet but it is on my list to get from the library this next week.

 

[warmfuzzies]

I dont want to hijack the thread, but I have a question for you, Buster.

What would be the best way to approach self sufficiency in an area with little rainfall? We get 8-14 inches a year, and that includes snow, so a lot of it isnt usefull to plants. We generally have to water every week during the growing season.

A solar well would be a good option but not available everywhere. What do you think?

 

[hikerchick]

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You just did hijack the thread.

 

[TillinWithMyPeeps]

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You just did hijack the thread.

It happens.