Farm City Summary

Novella Carpenter, author of Farm City: The Education of an Urban Farmer, is an activist who is a big part of the food movement and who has studied under Michael Pollen, author of Omnivores Dilemma. Originally from Seattle, she relocated to Oakland not only for its better climate for farming, but what she wanted most was to have the best of both worlds, to be able to go to bars and shows while being one with nature without feeling isolated. At the beginning she was a squatter, receiving permission from the landowner to start a local garden in the middle of the ‘ghettos’ where crime rates and poverty were a major issue. Carpenter saw an amazing opportunity to use the empty parking lot to produce something for the community and by starting with

In Farm City, Novella Carpenter claims, “ I had finally figured out who I was, who my people were: they were folks who love and respect animals, who learn from the, draw sustenance from them directly”. Although this statement does not apply when she brutally killed the possum with a shovel or painfully ended a slugs life by smashing it, when it comes down to it she respects organisms that will end up as a gourmet food on her table to consume. She believes that whatever she eats she will raise and kill respectfully by not wasting. Relating this back to the movie Temple Grandin, Temple emphasizes that, “I think using animals for food is an ethical thing to do, but we 've got to do it right. We 've got to give those animals a decent life and we 've got to give them a painless death. We owe the animal respect.” Novella adored all her animals that she raises and even cuddles with them although knowing she will end up sadly killing it. She knew that this was part of life and it’s a process that she had to do in order to have ‘true connections’ with her food. When we grow respect and understanding for our foods we also learn to appreciate the value of what good produce go through to get to our plates. The power to modify our ideal food is at our

In many ways, Farm City is a political book that touches areas that the city population didn’t know existed. When we imagine a farm we think large vast area with perfect sunny weather and huge sum of produce. What we learn from this book is that we can be a farmer with just planting a pot of vegetation by the windowsill or keeping a pet rabbit with intent to kill it and consume it. I spontaneously went to the flee market one Sunday and came across some rabbits. I currently am raising a bunny in my apartment that I adore and although I might not kill it myself, I heard rabbit’s meat is delicious. Simple small steps like this can break the paradigm of bad eating habits, which will lead us to a healthier organic food industry. Being a persistent and responsible consumer is the power we hold for change if we really believe in moving towards a better