Are You Going to Eat That?
Out of the book options, the most exciting book summary for me was Growing a Farmer: How I Learned to Live Off the Land by Kurt Timmermeistter. I know this novel was at the end of the list of book options and may need to be updated. However, my love for food, health, and wellness led me to this novel. Timmermeister not only opens up to the reader about his personal experiences about starting his farm and his overall career path, but he also shares a sense of vulnerability. As someone with a family in Indiana directly collated with the family land, I have always found this idea of living on a farm fascinating. I chose this novel mainly because I wanted to explore Kurt’s experience on the land and understand his viewpoint of being a self-made farmer in a way that I know generations of my family can relate to.
As I have shared in a previous blog post, I want to start my own company and have a few ideas on healthy whole-food snack options. That being said, novels like this that help spread insight into the amount of work it takes to get fresh produce and the overall business functionality are excellent research for entrepreneurs. I am about a third of the way through the novel and am excited to keep reading more. Each section shares a different point of view from Timmermeister’s life as a self-made farmer, his experiences in different field operations, and his takeaways from each produce and business operation he attempted throughout his career.
My hope from this novel is that I grow a stronger appreciation for where food comes from. As someone very interested in overall health and wellness, I treat my body like a temple, as cheesy as that sounds, and only fuel it with the best ingredients. Thus far, the novel has advised people to shop locally, and when they are at the store, they should take a moment to examine the food options and know which produce is the best to purchase. I am excited to learn more about the fruit industry as that is a line of business I potentially might try to tap into myself. My mom’s side of the family has land throughout Indiana specializing in corn and peas. I do not think I fully appreciated how amazing that is, and I did not acknowledge the family aspect that Kurt Timmermeister seemed to have always wanted. Overall, I have enjoyed this reading, and it has inspired me to reach out to my direct and extended family members to hear about their relationship with food while living on the farm.
Alex, I like how you chose a book that has a lot of ties to your personal life. I am also a huge foodie and was immediately interested in viewing your perspective on a book regarding farming. Farming plays a key role throughout this country as well as in the food industry. So growing our understanding about farmers can ultimately help our love for food!
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