Includes bibliographical references (pages 273-276).

Turkey -- Rabbit -- Pig. When the author - captivated by the idea of backyard self-sufficiency as the daughter of two back-to-the-earth hippies - moves to a ramshackle house in inner-city Oakland and discovers a weed-choked, garbage-strewn abandoned lot next door, she closes her eyes and pictures heirloom tomatoes, a beehive, and a chicken coop. What starts out as a few egg-laying chickens leads to turkeys, geese, and ducks. And not long after, along came two 300-pound pigs - and no, these charming and eccentric animals aren't pets. These pigs are being raised for dinner. This book offers farming tips as well as a meditation on what we give up by leading a typical twenty-first century lifestyle.