How much is that apple in the window?

In the last few months, I've been thinking quite a lot about where my food comes from. Specifically, I've been thinking about how much money/energy is used to get my California cherries or Chilean clementines or Washington apples to the grocery store.

So as a book or article on the topic strikes my interest, I'm reading them.

When I saw this today, I immediately thought, "Well, the home owner's associations can't be happy!" I think the concept is interesting and could be pretty coool, if done well. (There's a chapter on a related topic in the book A Perfect Mess.)

I've also been reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. This book talks about the Kingsolver family's decision to live off the land for a full year. It's educational, interesting, well written... and FUNNY in places.

By the way, here's another book with a vegetable theme I recommend wholehartedly (forgive the 'Amazon.com'ian commercial): The $64 Tomato: How One Man Nearly Lost his Sanity, Spent a Fortune, and Endured an Existential Crisis in the Quest for the Perfect Garden. I read this book shortly after it came out last year. I don't recall if it dealt much with the virtues of growing one's own food, but it was a really good read.

All the books and articles have given me much... um... food for thought. I don't anticipate ever being able to grow all of my food or eat everything locally grown... but I hope to do better.