Salon on the DIY, Urban Homesteading, Canning, Pickling Craze

File under worth reading: In Salon today, Sarah Karnasiewicz's deconstruction of the crafty, urban homesteading trend--she deftly points out that, unless you have a giant garden, this is not your grandmother's thrifty canning, but actually a luxury hobby.

Because the truth no one tells you is that while canning and pickling and curing your own (locally grown, organic) food may be many things -- rewarding, sustainable, health-conscious, creative and challenging, even -- one thing it ain't is cheap.

And she argues that it's not just the economy that's fueled the DIY impulse:

In fact, the whole DIY scene seemed to gain ground just when everyone needed new, hipper, cooler creative things to spend their money on. Cases in point: the "everybody knit your own socks out of $30 skeins of mohair" trend and the "sew your own purse out of vintage bark cloth" trend. The DIY-grub trend, like a slightly more practical younger sibling, has been nurtured by years on a steady diet of hipster, locavore, get-your-hands-dirty, foodie propaganda...