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The Blue Plate: A Food Lover's Guide to Climate Change
Do you really know what’s for dinner? The Blue Plate is the perfect dinner companion for food lovers who also care about the planet. Ecologist Mark J. Easter offers a detailed picture of the impact the foods you love have on the earth. Organized by the ingredients of a typical dinner party, including seafood, salad, bread, chicken, steak, potatoes, and fruit pie with ice cream, each chapter examines the food through the lens of the climate crisis. Gathered like guests around the table, here are the stories of these the soil that grew the lettuce, the farmers and ranchers and orchardists who steward the land, the dairy and farm workers and grocers who labor to bring it to the table. Each chapter reveals the causes and effects of greenhouse gas emissions, as well as the social and environmental impact of out-of-season and ar-from-home demand.
What can you do to eat more sustainably? Food lovers everywhere will be happy to know that the answer is not necessarily a plant-based diet. For each food group, Easter offers low-carbon, in-season alternatives that make your favorite foods not only more sustainable but also more delicious.
The first step, however, is an understanding of how food is grown, produced, harvested, and shipped. In stories both personal and entertaining, the author offers a full understanding of what’s for dinner.
What can you do to eat more sustainably? Food lovers everywhere will be happy to know that the answer is not necessarily a plant-based diet. For each food group, Easter offers low-carbon, in-season alternatives that make your favorite foods not only more sustainable but also more delicious.
The first step, however, is an understanding of how food is grown, produced, harvested, and shipped. In stories both personal and entertaining, the author offers a full understanding of what’s for dinner.
Kindle Edition
Published September 17, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
February 7, 2026
The Blue Plate: A Food Lover’s Guide to Climate Change by Mark J. Easter is a fascinating, deeply informative guide to understanding the environmental and social impact of the foods we eat. Structured around a typical dinner, Easter examines every ingredient from seafood to fruit pie through the lens of climate change, revealing the hidden consequences of production, transportation, and consumption.
With compelling stories about farmers, ranchers, dairy and farm workers, and grocers, Easter shows how the choices we make at the table affect the planet. Importantly, he provides actionable, low carbon alternatives for each food group, demonstrating that eating sustainably doesn’t require giving up favorite foods it’s about smarter, more informed choices.
Illustrated and brought to life with a foreword by Anthony Myint and thoughtful visuals by Liam O’Farrell, The Blue Plate blends science, ecology, and culinary curiosity. It’s perfect for food lovers, sustainability advocates, and anyone seeking a practical, approachable guide to eating with conscience while still enjoying life’s pleasures.
With compelling stories about farmers, ranchers, dairy and farm workers, and grocers, Easter shows how the choices we make at the table affect the planet. Importantly, he provides actionable, low carbon alternatives for each food group, demonstrating that eating sustainably doesn’t require giving up favorite foods it’s about smarter, more informed choices.
Illustrated and brought to life with a foreword by Anthony Myint and thoughtful visuals by Liam O’Farrell, The Blue Plate blends science, ecology, and culinary curiosity. It’s perfect for food lovers, sustainability advocates, and anyone seeking a practical, approachable guide to eating with conscience while still enjoying life’s pleasures.
May 31, 2025
Easter uses science and simple language to inform and educate readers on our impacts and a plan to fix our impacts on the planet. it is not a blame blame blame but an understanding of the centuries of "work" that went into to destruction of our food systems. the current and ongoing projects he examines that are working to fix our gas emissions from compost to cows to corn really help to make it feel not so hopeless. loved this read!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews