More and more people want to eat sustainably, but it isn't always easy to navigate grocery stores or restaurant menus. Happily, Jay Weinstein's The Ethical Gourmet: How to Enjoy Great Food That is Humanely Raised, Sustainable, Nonendangered, and That Replenishes the Earth takes all the guesswork out of it. Providing not only an excellent primer on the politics and business that drive agricultural systems and food production from start to finish, Weinstein tells where and how to get the most sustainable option for many foods. Love salmon? Go for wild-caught from Alaska. Foie gras? A big no-no. Bison can be an excellent replacement for beef, and always, always look for "Certified Human Raised & Handled" or the American Humane Association's "Free Farmed Certified" labels when buying any meat. He cautions against too much meat; the most ethical proteins of all, though, are grains, beans and legumes, so don't be afraid of them. When it comes to produce, go local organic, then local, then organic, then conventional.
As a chef and food-lover himself, Weinstein includes 100 recipes promoting not just his ethical dining ingredients, but his practices: eat less meat (or none at all), and when you do, make the portions smaller by pairing and prepairing it well. A smaller morsel of perfectly-cooked, well-flavored meat paired with other delicious ethical foods will be a much more complete, sustainable and enjoyable meal that a huge hunk of meat from a factory farm.
It excels as both a handbook and cookbook, and the extensive resource guide will keep ethical consumers busy learning more about sustainable foods for days. Throughout the book, Weinstein has a keen grasp on one very important idea: that knowing more about your food, where it came from and why that's important makes it taste better, and he applies to everything from coffee to chocolate to clams and crabs. The book is written in the belief that if each of us does his or her part we can make a difference, and the world will be a better place for it; following its advice allows responsible stewards of the Earth to enjoy delicious foods. It's available from Broadway Books, Powell's Books and other booksellers.
