The pace of our lives accelerates with each passing day. Regularity and routine have fallen by the wayside, as we now find ourselves in a race against the clock. We no longer pause to ponder what our bodies are consuming and what path the product has taken from creation to our refrigerator. Our buying habits are spiraling ever faster, while the sustainability of our way of life is rapidly vanishing.

Barbara Kingsolver, the book's author, along with her husband and two daughters, took the risk of resisting the mass consumer lifestyle. They lived in Tucson, Arizona, and relied solely on imports due to the unfavorable climate for local food production. Everything the family bought at the supermarket had traveled a long way just to reach their plates. The harsh Sonoran Desert kept locals on a strict seasonal diet of corn and beans. The prices and quality of imported products suffered because of the long journey. Clean water was also scarce and precious in this desert region.

The Kingsolver family got tired of feeling that they were residents of a remote space station. They decided to start a localvore life. Thus, they traded all the city amenities and familiar surroundings for living off the land in the Appalachian countryside. The parents were determined to raise their children with a proper set of consumption values. From that point forward, their eating habits were anchored in high-quality, locally sourced products and drinking water.

Many may find such a radical lifestyle change impossible, but this is merely an illusion. Do your body a favor and invest in its nutritional well-being by filling it with the highest-quality ingredients. Today, take the first step toward living a conscious and fulfilling life by cultivating a healthy, mindful relationship with food.