bookworm

Lately I have been reading a lot (um actually I always read a lot... lately I have been reading even more).  And unlike the majority of time in Belize, I am actually reading some really good books (A small US college uses the cabins on the farm some semesters, and they gave me unlimited library access).  I know that I always enjoy book recommendations, so I thought I'd put a link up on my sidebar and post a little discussion about books I feel particularly strong about.

These first two books really should be read together.  I had heard of these books for a few years but never got my hands on them till now.... I wish I had read them earlier.  Both books talk about the current industrialized state of the food industry in the US.  And it really is not a pleasant picture.  Genetically modified food, terrible worker conditions, contaminated food "cleaned" with harsh chemicals.  For all people worry about eating in third world countries like Belize, at least I know mostly where my food is from, and I could watch it being processed if I so choose (our pig, for example, is going to bite the dust and live in our freezer fairly soon). I know my neighbors, and I know who does things cleanly. In a country where the average item you buy in the grocery store travels 1500 miles to get to you, there is no chance for quality control through customer knowledge.  And according to these books it doesn't seem the government is too interested in quality control as long as the big food companies keep giving them money.

Anyways, these books will provoke a lot of conversations if nothing else.  I highly recommend both.  Along with the books, we watched Food, inc.  and The Future of Food.  Daniel was so impressed with both documentaries he is showing them to all the science teachers at school and asking them to show the films to all their classes.