What would I have to stop eating if I only ate food in season and grown locally—or even within a couple hundred miles of my home?

A lot. Gone are the bananas and avocados. Same for Diet Coke.

I’d have to rethink where my bread, tortillas and pasta come from and so many other items.

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life (HarperCollins, 2007) is the story of a family who spent a year consuming nearly only local ingredients. The book is mostly written by Barbara Kingsolver, who is better known for her works of fiction. Contributing to this true story are husband Steven Hopp and eldest daughter Camille Kingsolver. While the youngest daughter didn’t write anything, she is integral to the book.

I was captured by this concept—to really pay attention to where your food comes from. This includes plants and animals. It includes beverages, condiments and everything we put in our mouths.

I understand the concept of eating what’s in season even though I don’t always abide by it. I understand real food vs. processed. However, I pay less attention to how far something had to travel to get to the grocery store.

For this family it was easier because they had enough land to grow much of what they wanted and needed. They then canned and froze their harvest to have in the winter. Not everyone can do that even though once upon a time that was the norm.

The stories of their yearlong journey are captivating. Listening to the book was great because all three contributors spoke their parts.

While most of us aren’t going to live on a farm, we all can probably do better when it comes to eating locally. This book offers ideas how to make changes—even small ones. Part of it is just saying no—which I realize can actually be a big change.

I’m not ready to give up bananas. However, if I had one every other day, that cuts my impact in half. It’s a start.