World Ark Magazine - November/December 2007 - (Page 9)

dissonance and also offer a kind of key to unlocking what the book is really about. Usually that key opens another door in every chapter. I really want the readers to decide for themselves what the miracle is; it may be different for everyone. For me, the biggest miracle is the fact that this project, which may have seemed to us in the beginning to be an exercise in deprivation, very quickly guided us through a paradigm shift. Very quickly, we came to see this way of living with a sense of gratitude. We moved from beginning each meal by asking, “What do I feel like?” to asking, “What do we have?” We would look at what’s coming in—what’s wonderful and abundant right now—and work from there. It was very valuable for our family, and it’s a wonderful way to live. It’s a paradigm shift that all of us could probably use in our lives. WA: A lot of people have the impression that eating food that’s good for you is somehow a chore or a bore. But you seem to be celebrating a lot in this book and having a really good time. Kingsolver: Oh it’s so true. We so often presume that doing the right thing is going to be a drag, whether it’s eating food that’s better for our bodies or making changes in our lives that will help preserve the environment. Our first response is often to presume that it’s going to be hard and miserable. In this case, it’s been one big Hallelujah! I think this has a lot to do with returning to what is normal for our species, for any animal. It’s not normal to rely on invisible people on the other side of the world for our survival. Ever since humans ate their first meal, we ate what was grown nearby. So it feels so good to come home to ourselves and eat the way we were made to eat and live the way we were made to live: in communities that sustain themselves and rely on one another, communities that make their transactions in a handshake deal. Food is the heart of every culture, and my country’s culture has lost its heart. That is a very painful truth. We’re feeding kids food that’s making them sick, that’s leaving them with a shorter life span than their parents. That’s brutal. WA: This book was clearly a family project. Was it hard to convince your kids and husband to get on board? Kingsolver: Our family has always prepared and eaten meals together. My kids are accustomed to eating healthy food that comes from nearby, so this felt pretty normal for us, to tell you the truth. But with this project we formalized the deal. We made this public pledge. It’s similar to a marriage ceremony that attaches you publicly to a commitment. It’s not a commitment about giving up an old way of life, but about embracing a new way of life that you know you want to live. By signing a book contract, by saying we’re really going to do this, we formalized the commitment. It helped us to push ourselves to do more than we had done previously. Two Goats Are Better Than One! Do you want your gift to help twice as many families receive animals and training? More than 13,000 companies will match their employees’ contributions to Heifer International. To ﬁnd out if your employer is one of them, go to: Read the entire Barbara Kingsolver interview at www.heifer.org/worldark www.heifer.org www.heifer.org/matching November/December 2007 | WORLD ARK 9 http://www.heifer.org/matching http://www.heifer.org/worldark http://www.heifer.org

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of World Ark Magazine - November/December 2007

World Ark - November/December 2007 Contents Letters For the Record The Good Life Asked & Answered Pursuing Happiness (PRODUCT) RED: Consumer Power Fights AIDS in Africa Rwanda Reconciles End Hunger Now Protecting the Poor from Climate Change Mixed Media Heifer Bulletin Heifer Spirit Heifer Calendar Reflection

World Ark Magazine - November/December 2007

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