Thoughts

As we are coming to an end with The Revolution Will Not Be Microwaved, I have to say that this book definitely surprised me. I admit that my expectations for this book were pretty undefined, but I had hoped to gain some knowledge about the Food Movement, essentially enough to push me even more over the edge of tolerance. With that in mind, I definitely felt that there was an abundant amount of facts and useful information on this topic. I felt that at times, Katz was a little repetitive with his points, yet overall did a good job in choosing relevant facts that supported his argument. Also, his little anecdotes were often sporadic, but did indeed, keep the reader intrigued.

Not only does Katz touch on the incidences that led up to the food crisis we are in today, but he also provided many ways to change the customs we are so used to by providing ideas for the future. Although I felt some were a little extreme and unrealistic (i.e. picking up road kill off the side of the street to take home with you for dinner), Katz put things into perspective, and opened the reader to the realm of possibilities that are out there. With my growing interest in the food movement, I feel that this book put the foot down on my drive towards food activism.

One aspect that gets at me the most is how much everything is interrelated. The environmental issues that are of most importance today can almost all be directly related to industrial agriculture. From reducing CO₂ emissions, to preventing water pollution, to decreasing prominent health issues, the major source to many of these problems are due to the malpractices of agriculture. By going back to the roots of traditional farming, where poly-culture and small farms are favored, we can reduce many of the harmful acts on the environment. But HOW is the question, right?

I am a true advocate towards the food movement; however my problem begins with moving my knowledge from my brain to the next person, to my home, to the community. How do you convince someone to buy local in just two sentences? Without going into all the facts, leading into a rampant, and eventually loading the listener with tons of facts that they might not even be all that interested in, and likely will not even retain. I would love to be a community leader for change, but I am wondering how to put these deep, compelling, passionate feelings, into two straightforward, persuasive sentences. thoughts?