Press Release: NAACP Responds to Coup Attempt
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

NC Council of Churches

Strength in Unity, Peace through Justice

  • Voices
  • About
    • Overview
    • Staff
    • Members
    • Covenant Partners
    • Issue Statements
    • Governing Board
  • Programs
    • Ecumenical Immigration Alliance
      • Ideas for Action
      • Sign Our Statement
      • The NC Sanctuary Coalition
      • Immigration Bible Study
      • Contact
    • NC Interfaith Power & Light
      • NCIPL Overview
      • Faith in Action NCIPL
      • NCIPL Articles
      • NCIPL Resources
      • Upcoming Events for NCIPL
      • Contact NCIPL
    • Partners in Health & Wholeness
      • PHW Staff
      • Mini-Grants
      • PHW Collaborative Pledge
      • The Opioid Crisis: The Faith Community Responds
      • PHW Articles
      • FAQs
  • Priorities
    • Racial Justice
    • The Opioid Crisis: The Faith Community Responds
    • Gun Violence Prevention
    • Public Education
    • NC Sanctuary Coalition
    • Farmworkers
    • Legislative Advocacy
    • Christian Unity
    • Peace
    • NC No Torture
  • COVID-19 Resources
  • Events
  • Resources
    • Publications & Reports
    • Raleigh Report
    • Lectionary
    • Sermons
  • Donate
  • Council Store
  • Show Search

Search NC Council of Churches

Hide Search

PHW Book Club Discussion: Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, Chapter Eleven

Shannon Axtell Martin, PHW Regional Coordinator · December 12, 2013 · Leave a Comment

Thank you for joining the Partners in Health and Wholeness Book Club. You can officially sign-up here. Through it, we hope to engage people of faith in discussions over why our health matters. Our current choice of reading is “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life” by Barbara Kingsolver. We are posting updates through the PHW Facebook page, but our PHW blog page has the discussion posts in full with responses from staff. Just look for the apple on top of the book picture among the blog post pictures and you will find past Book Club entries.

This is a very rich chapter, with beautiful scenes from an organic farm run by an Amish couple. They reflect on the size of their farm, and their communion with the fields, which Kingsolver describes as “part meditation and part biology.” The parts of this chapter that struck me most were this family’s powerful knowledge of and commitment to the land, and this line: “We seem to be built with a faulty gauge for moderation.”

Before the visit to the organic farm, the Kingsolver family is visiting friends in Montreal, where they go to a farmers market. They take in the local fare of Quebec, including, most notably, an array of maple products. While the maple products are no surprise, her family is impressed by what these farmers have been able to produce from this land that was so recently frozen (their visit is in June). Kingsolver sees a head of broccoli that looks “too good to be true.” She is confused when the vendor says it came from South America. When she asks what country in South America he replies, “La Californie, madame.” She laughs, but then reflects that when it comes to produce, California might as well be its own country. She says, “I’d buy it if I lived here, and fly the flag of La Californie in my kitchen.”

Then she begins to wonder — when their year of committed local buying is over, would she be able to indulge in treats in moderation? Enjoy such delights responsibly, without falling into dependency? And here is the sticking point: “California vegetables are not the serpent, it’s all of us who open our veins to the flow of gas-fueled foods, becoming yawning addicts, while our neighborhood farms dry up and blow away. We seem to be built with a faulty gauge for moderation.” What difference could it make if we all enjoyed imported produce, albeit in moderation?

I could not agree more with the faulty gauge analogy — I find that it is much easier to give something up entirely than to learn to enjoy in moderation. I would love to learn to enjoy Ben and Jerry’s a few bites at a time, but more often than not a whole pint disappears before I know it. Once we taste something good, we want more. However, I know from experience that after doing without a certain food — cheese, sugar, meat, refined grains — we don’t miss them as much. We begin to forget the taste.  Unfortunately, when we become dependent on produce shipped from all over the world, we begin to forget what fresh, in-season produce actually tastes like. We trade superior taste, nutrition, and care for creation for convenience.

Kingsolver’s reflection on the struggle for moderation is at the heart of what it is to be human. I struggle with this dilemma of moderation versus total abstinence. Take sugar — there is a part of me that knows that sugar is very harmful to our bodies, and I know I need to care for this body as a way of living into God’s call to a full and abundant life. There is another part of me that just as strongly and unabashedly believes that enjoying Ben and Jerry’s ice cream or a piece of chocolate cake — in moderation — is also a part of living a full and abundant life. We are made to delight just as much as we are made to steward. In this season of indulgence, where we are frequently surrounded by an overabundance of sugary treats (and probably out-of-season produce), let us reflect on our own gauges for moderation, and remember that when it comes to produce, sometimes waiting for the proper season is the true key to delight.

Questions:

  1. During this season of Advent, we practice (or at least reflect on) the difficult and uncommon art of waiting. How might this season of waiting challenge us to learn to wait when it comes to the food we eat?
  2. Can we find balance in realizing we can also delight in the love of friends, family, and God and not rely on food to fulfill us?
  3. Are you more successful than I often am with enjoying treats in moderation? What helps you do this?
  4.  Do you have dietary restrictions or rules that you follow to maintain a healthy lifestyle?

–Shannon Axtell Martin, PHW Regional Consultant

Partners in Health and Wholeness is an initiative of the North Carolina Council of Churches. PHW aims to connect health as a faith issue. Please visit our website to sign your personal pledge to be healthier, and to find out about grant opportunities for places of worship in NC.    

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Environment, Food, Health, Hunger, Rural Life

Shannon Axtell Martin, PHW Regional Coordinator

About Shannon Axtell Martin, PHW Regional Coordinator

I get so excited about the many aspects of the faith and health, particularly the food and faith, movement. I am honored to be a part of it through the work of PHW. I love travelling, cooking, eating, writing and preaching. I am an aspiring gardener, artist, and half-marathoner. My deepest joys in life involve my 8th and 9th grade girls small group, wonderful family, dear friends, husband Robert and puppy Benny, and the amazing blessing of figuring out this journey of life together.
Learn more about PHW and our efforts to improve the health of God’s people: healthandwholeness.org

Reader Interactions

More Like This

A Win for the People and Planet: Atlantic Coast Pipeline Cancelled!
From Domination to Dominion
Advent Guide: Epiphany Sunday, January 5

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Anonymous comments or comments that target individuals will not be posted (please include your first and last name). All comments must be on topic and respectful. Comments will not be posted until they have been reviewed by a moderator. Comments do not reflect the positions of the NC Council of Churches.

Footer

Contact

NC Council of Churches
27 Horne St.
Raleigh, NC 27607
(919) 828-6501
info@ncchurches.org

Facebook

Partners in Health and Wholeness

Featured

PHW Book Club Discussion: Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, Chapter Eleven

Latest Tweets

Are you interested in Christian unity, peace, and social justice? Do you know someone who is? Share this post and stay updated on what is coming up this year by signing up for our weekly newsletter! ncchurches.org/email…

About 3 days ago

The 2021 MLK Brochure edition from @democracync features info about voting in local elections this year, advocating for fair & transparent redistricting, and more. Follow the link to get these brochures! docs.google.com/form…

About 3 days ago

RT @NCPolicyWatch The real perpetrators of fraud regarding the 2020 election shar.es/ao4BUi via @NCPolicyWatch #NCPOL #NCGA #ElectionIntegrity #Trump @ncchurches

About 3 days ago

RT @healthandfaith Join us, @ncdhhs, and @ncchurches next Friday for a webinar focused on the COVID-19 Vaccine roll out. We will discuss the process and how faith communities can get involved. Register here: us02web.zoom.us/meet… #MindfulTogether pic.twitter.com/Nm90…

About 3 days ago

"The United States Congress, a week after the nation’s Capitol was overrun by a violent mob while lawmakers were carrying out one of their paramount duties, now faces a paramount challenge.." Read more from this Raleigh Report by Steve Ford. ncchurches.org/2021/…

About 4 days ago

Follow @ncchurches

Latest Tweets

Awesome things to come this year - subscribe and stay in touch! #MindfulTogether twitter.com/ncchurch…

About 2 days ago

So important and needed. You are so loved. twitter.com/NAMINCar…

About 3 days ago

Join us, @ncdhhs, and @ncchurches next Friday for a webinar focused on the COVID-19 Vaccine roll out. We will discuss the process and how faith communities can get involved. Register here: us02web.zoom.us/meet… #MindfulTogether pic.twitter.com/Nm90…

About 3 days ago

Check it out! twitter.com/CityofDu…

About 5 days ago

Don't forget to register for our final Becoming a Trauma-Informed Faith Community webinar next Tuesday. Join this whole-person driven conversation as we support and honor one another's stories and experiences. Register here: ow.ly/xNNI50D3lHp #mentalhealth #MindfulTogether pic.twitter.com/mtZM…

About a week ago

Follow @healthandfaith

Latest Tweets

RT @interfaithpower Join IPL Jan 19 for a free screening of the short film Unbreathable, followed by webinar: The EPA and Clean Air in 2021. Register: bit.ly/unbreathable @episcopalchurch @LungAssociation @faithinplace @alinterfaithpl @iowaipl @NCIPL @VAIPL @NewMexicoIPL @GeorgiaIPL pic.twitter.com/yDlx…

About 3 days ago

RT @CCLTriangle This is the jobs engine the country needs @SenThomTillis @SenatorBurr @GKButterfield @DeborahRossNC: 81% of additional generating capacity in the USA last year was solar, wind or battery. Great news. Please make sure the percentage rises this year! eia.gov/todayinenerg… pic.twitter.com/zarU…

About 5 days ago

RT @interfaithpower Join IPL Jan 19 for a free screening of the short film Unbreathable, followed by webinar: The EPA and Clean Air in 2021. Register: bit.ly/unbreathable @episcopalchurch @LungAssociation @faithinplace @alinterfaithpl @iowaipl @NCIPL @VAIPL @NewMexicoIPL @GeorgiaIPL pic.twitter.com/zSKE…

Last week

RT @noel_johnny Oil & gas corporations, including Chevron and Exxon, have donated a total of $5.4 million to the seven Senators who voted to overturn the presidential election and bolstered a violent, failed attempted coup by pro-Trump extremists. greenpeace.org/usa/n…. #RemoveOrResign

Last week

RT @UniteThePoor Nine moral witnesses with the #PoorPeoplesCampaign were arrested on June 12, 2018 for praying for repentance & justice on the steps of the US Supreme Court. They were taken to jail & held till the following day. #TBT 📷: #HopeInFocus pic.twitter.com/66Zn…

About 2 weeks ago

Follow @ncipl

Latest Tweets

Copyright © 2021 NC Council of Churches · All Rights Reserved · Website by Tomatillo Design · Hosted by WP Engine