Patagonia Book The Blue Plate

Do you really know what’s on your plate? The Blue Plate is perfect for food lovers who also care about the planet.

Ecologist Mark Easter describes in detail the impact that your favourite foods have on the environment. Organised around the ingredients of a typical dinner with friends (seafood, salad, bread, chicken, steak, potatoes, fruit pie, and ice cream), each chapter examines the foods through the lens of the climate crisis. Far from being a cookbook, discover the story of each of these guests: the soil that grew the lettuce; the farmers, ranchers, and producers who manage the land; the merchants and farm workers who ensure food reaches your table. Each chapter reveals the causes and effects of greenhouse gas emissions, as well as the social and environmental impacts of the demand for out-of-season and imported products.

What can you do to consume more sustainably? Don’t worry, you won’t necessarily have to go on a vegan diet. For every category of food, Mark Easter offers not recipes but seasonal, low carbon solutions to make your favourite foods not only more eco-friendly but even more delicious.

The first step, however, is to understand how these foods are grown, produced, harvested, and shipped. Through both personal and entertaining stories, the author paints a complete picture of what’s on our plate.