On A Dollar A Day: One Couple's Unlikely Adventures In Eating In America (2010) - Plot & Excerpts
I picked up this book at the library on a whim because the premise sounded interesting: Two English teachers exploring food insecurity and what it means to really eat on a budget in America. The book is divided into three sections: The One Dollar A Day Project; The Thrifty Food Plan; and Striving to Eat Healthfully. The chapters rotate between Christopher Greenslate and Kerri Leonard, giving both sides of the story, and this actually helped a great deal in understanding what the authors want to accomplish. Greenslate is the idealistic one, who ponders the social and philosophical questions of food, and he sometimes gets lost in his topic. Leonard is the practical one who winds up doing most of the planning and strategy.In the first section the authors take a month to tackle the challenge to eat on a dollar a day per person, or what much of the population of the world has to survive on. I appreciate that Greenslate and Leonard do not try to minimize just how miserable an experience this was, and the degree to which they became irritable and just plain mean to each other. They're honest about the challenges of trying to maintain their vegan lifestyle (I would imagine veganism actually helped them with the challenge because on a dollar a day nobody's getting much meat!) The authors discuss their weight loss, mood swings, and feelings of general ill-health that result from poor nutrition, and their honesty goes a long way in supporting the messages about food insecurity in this nation.The second section of the book the couple tries to live on the monthly food stamp allotment for a month. There's a math formula here that the authors use to arrive at a budget of $4.13 per person per day. Compared to the dollar a day of the previous project this seems like a fortune, but the authors also plan to use the guidelines for thrifty eating issued from the USDA and discover that they now have a whole new set of ridiculous challenges. Although they are a lot more comfortable and food secure this time, every day is a new opportunity for an argument and for Greenslate to eat something without telling Leonard (seriously, I would have decked him a few times for simple thoughtlessness!)The final section, Striving to Eat Healthy, is the "what we learned, and how we put it to use" section of the book. I found this portion to be the least useful because, at the time of the writing of the book, they hadn't quite figured out how to apply the insights they gained. Greenslate dedicates one whole chapter in this section to present an argument for veganism and, though I had felt most of the book was balanced, this chapter made me feel defensive and more than a little angry. I didn't think I picked up a book on veganism, I thought I had picked up a book that explores food culture in America and how to be more thoughtful about our consumption in general. I feel like instead of "One Couple's Unlikely Adventures in Eating in America" this book should be subtitled, "You Really Should All Be Vegan if You Have Any Social Conscience." I feel like I have fallen victim to a literary bait and switch, and this is why I am giving this work three stars. Kerri and Christopher conduct a series of "experiments" around their eating habits, first eating on a dollar a day per person for one month. This challenge came when Christopher remarked that there are million people around the world who subsit on this amount. They found that, while doable, they both lost weight and were pretty cranky, and the variety of food they could afford was very limited. Next they decided to go for a month eating on $4.13 each, the average supplemented allotment of people on food stamps in the US. They tried to stick with the meal plan that is suggested to food stamp recipients, adapated for their vegan diet. While there was more variety, because of the substitutions they had to make to the meal plan because of vegan as well as time and schedules, they didn't feel they always got nutritious meals. Finally, they decided to try to eat healthfully for the lowest cost, something they are trying to maintain to this day.This was a quick read, and though-provoking. I'm awaiting my first delivery of fresh veggies from my CSA (Community-supported agriculture), and I try to be mindful of the food I purchase and prepare and not waste any, which makes for interesting meal combinations some nights.
What do You think about On A Dollar A Day: One Couple's Unlikely Adventures In Eating In America (2010)?
A little to liberal for me, but they have some very valid arguments.
—stardustseeker
Vegan teachers eat peanut butter as dessert for a whole month.
—peaches
Loved it - made me think before I went to the supermarket.
—jackie
