Tastee Geez

The latest issue of Geez Magazine (#8, Winter 2007) arrived today, and it’s all about a subject near and dear to me: food. More specifically, it’s about the origins of our food and the people and places that produce it. There’s been a whole lot of attention drawn to the sustainability of our eating practices over recent years–and thank goodness for that. But much of the discussion seems to revolve around what my husband refers to as the “organic elite,” namely wealthy urban consumers who can afford to stroll through abundant Berkley-esque farmers markets filling their baskets with lots of pricey organic produce. Not that I’m against farmers markets or don’t understand that food produced sanely costs more. I get all that. But it seems like much of the sustainable food conversation has been about urban consumers rather than the rural areas where the bulk of our food still does–and necessarily will in the future–come from.

The current issue of Geez appears to combat that a bit. One author writes about real rural American culture, and there’s an entire section devoted to “ruralizing your heart, mind and maybe even your whole life.” Heck, they’ve even thrown in a picture of a combine. This looks promising.

I’ll report back with a snippet or two once I have a chance to give it a read. If you want your own copy, you can borrow mine–if you’re in the area and agree to buy me a coffee–or order your own here.