Krauss and Foer in The Book Book
- Aug. 17, 2014, 12:02 p.m.
- |
- Public
On my way to and from work I'm listening to a taped version Nicole Krauss's History of Love borrowed from the library.
I have a very vague memory of a short story of hers in the New Yorker that caught my fancy. This book is very Jewish. It's about immigrants from Europe, who live in New York, who've lived in Israel and South America. The tape version is being read by several voices in the first person. One is an old man at the end of his life. One a girl who is trying to make her widowed mother and her younger brother happy. It has humor and depth and I suppose it is a history of love. The language is simple and it kind of folds in on itself.
I went googling this morning, looking for images of the author and of the book itself. I found quotes:
Once upon a time there was a boy who loved a girl, and her laughter was a question he wanted to spend his whole life answering.
and
Nothing makes me happier and nothing makes me sadder than you.
Those aren't exactly the kind of quotes that appeal to me. The book isn't exactly the kind of book that appeals to me. But still I'm spending time with it and it's creeping into my consciousness and maybe changing me a little.
The book is dedicated to Krauss's four grandparents and to her husband Jonathan Safran Foers. He writes books too, novels, and a non-fiction book he might be best known for called Eating Animals.
I read part of an except from it that's available here. It's nothing I don't know. I come from generations of farmers. I understand what it takes to raise animals for food. It's not always pretty. I read about the abuses of animals, the animals that die, that are killed, the suffering, the sheer mistakes that are made in converting life to life.
I say, ok, I get it. I will quit eating meat. And eggs. I already only eat eggs when someone else cooks them for me. I worry a little if I give up cheese if I'll get enough protein. I don't drink much milk anyway. I like black beans and rice and salsa enough to live on them. I like fruits of all kinds. I can give up brats and hamburger and italian sausage and the occasional chicken breast. And tuna. I eat tuna from a can once in a while.
I can do those things. And maybe I will. But does it matter? Will doing any of those things make any difference?
I try to imagine a world of vegetarians. And I can't. Can you help me?
Last updated August 17, 2014
Darcy0207 from OD ⋅ August 17, 2014
When I was 13 my parents took us on a vacation to a working dairy farm that took in guests. I worked so hard at morning milking, they invited me back for free. At one time, I got to see a calf be born. It was a male calf and would be going straight to another place to be raised for veal (!). No veal for me! It was a short trip to no beef, or lamb, or pork. I haven't eaten mammals since I was 18 (sometimes they slip in, but I pick out the little pieces if I can).
That book sounds GOOD. Since my movie buddy is Orthodox, I've gotten more in touch with my Jewish roots. I read a LOT about the European and American traditions in 20th Century Judaism - mostly novels, but some non-fiction.
patrisha ⋅ August 17, 2014
Many many years ago, my sister became a vegetarian as her protest against how the animals used for meat were treated. I asked her if she felt her gesture had made any difference and she said, "Oh, yes! I am very different..." I have never forgotten that. I guess it is all we can do and only with one person at a time..."
Deleted user ⋅ August 17, 2014
Eating meat 1000 years ago must have been so different from eating now... thinking of factory farms specifically. I love meat and can't see us ever not being meat eaters, but I also feel very strongly about animals having a good life (as much as we can determine what a good life for them is). There is a movement towards eating pastured animals... and I definitely support that. It's more expensive (quite a bit) but we eat without guilt. Chickens in cages? Chickens never seeing the light of day? ANY animals never seeing the sky or the grass? It simply can't be the way God intended, in my opinion.
Have you heard of Joel Salatin, the owner of Polyface Farms in Virginia? He describes himself as a 'Christian libertarian environmentalist' and is well known for his teachings and books on organic, mindful, humane farming, including pastured chickens and eggs, pigs that can root around in the trees and grass.
He's quite outspoken and abrasive at times, but I learned a lot from his books. I may have mentioned him to you before. There are lots of videos of him on YouTube.
I just came across this video right now too [Out to Pasture: The Future of Farming] (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrRqi8-Y8ak) and haven't seen it yet, but I'm gonna watch it now, and you may be interested.
I think there is a big change in thinking that's emerging... people are becoming more interested in sustainability and healthy foods/meats. What if everyone who had a dog had a chicken or two or three instead? What if everyone who had a bit of space grew their own veggies, a fruit tree or two, and we all exchanged with these goods with each other? I love the idea, and I know in many parts of the world this is really catching on.
Like you, I have more questions than answers, but I'm glad you think about it and share your thoughts here.
NorthernSeeker ⋅ August 17, 2014
I guess I'm lucky...there are no factory farms here, just acres of cattle grazing peacefully/industriously. That doesn't mean the end of their lives are good. Then again, visit a long term care facility or a hospital. The end of our lives aren't good either.
NorthernSeeker ⋅ August 17, 2014
I eat less meat than I used to, but I think that my protein needs are less. When I don't eat meat for longish periods of time, I feel restless...like I haven't eaten.
Beret ⋅ August 17, 2014
Ha, you're asking me to help? Seriously, I can't imagine a world of vegetarians either. Meat is too ingrained into people's lives and culture. If I ate beef I would have to know where it came from. Poultry too. Pork and fish? I just wouldn't go there. At all.
Tick Tock Tick ⋅ August 18, 2014
Never considered that. Unlikely to happen in a long time, I think, everyone going vegetarian. Would it be more expensive? I think of Beret's vegetarian meals and they don't seem like they'd be that expensive. My choice of food has definitely changed. I go more organic when it doesn't seem outrageously expensive to do so. We seldom eat beef and when we do it is organic or grass fed and that is VERY expensive. Never buy anything but organic eggs and cage free. Best of all are Bonnie's. Would love to buy a half a pig from Bieber where they roam free, I think. Avoid farm raised fish. Now drink Almond Milk rather than cow's milk. Seems like people I know are drifting in a similar direction, more seafood and less beef. Thought-provoking entry.
TruNorth ⋅ August 19, 2014
I think it might be possible for us to exist in the small farming communities that you describe only if we reduce the world's population dramatically - maybe Ebola or something like it will accomplish this. Even AIDs wasn't able to make a significant dent in overall global overpopulation.
RosesAreRed ⋅ August 19, 2014
Can't imagine it..
noko ⋅ August 24, 2014
I read and enjoyed that book a few years back. I thought it beautifully written and something so unlike the family and cultural world I grew up in.
I eat meat. Not a lot but I do eat it. I try to be clear about the choice I am making and am grateful to be able to have a choice. I bought my eggs this morning from a woman at a card table at the farmer's market who has pictures of the chickens. If I had asked I am sure she would have told me which one laid which eggs. Portland!
woman in the moon noko ⋅ August 24, 2014
I like the idea of knowing which chicken laid which egg but I'm pretty sure your dozen came from a dozen different hens because they lay (at most) one a day and you got the day's almost full devotion of more than one hen.
Animal agriculture has been a part of our culture from prehistory. Animals 'consented' to domestication. There can be beauty in it. Much marginal land is better suited to pasture than crops. Animals create fertilizer. The whole natural rotation of crops, sustainable ag thing is dependent on animals. One of the 'unfair' parts of the huge hog buildings that dot my area's landscape is that the owner of the building gets the manure and thus does not have to buy commercial fertilizer, thus has a much wider profit margin than other farmers.