Food Matters: A Guide to Conscious Eating with More Than 75 Recipes
by Mark Bittman

Summary

From the award-winning champion of culinary simplicity who gave us the bestselling How to Cook Everything and How to Cook Everything Vegetarian comes Food Matters, a plan for responsible eating that's as good for the planet as it is for your weight and your health.

We are finally starting to acknowledge the threat carbon emissions pose to our ozone layer, but few people have focused on the extent to which our consumption of meat contributes to global warming. Think about it this way: In terms of energy consumption, serving a typical family-of-four steak dinner is the rough equivalent of driving around in an SUV for three hours while leaving all the lights on at home.

Bittman offers a no-nonsense rundown on how government policy, big business marketing, and global economics influence what we choose to put on the table each evening. He demystifies buzzwords like "organic," "sustainable," and "local" and offers straightforward, budget-conscious advice that will help you make small changes that will shrink your carbon footprint—and your waistline.

Flexible, simple, and non-doctrinaire, the plan is based on hard science but gives you plenty of leeway to tailor your food choices to your lifestyle, schedule, and level of commitment. Bittman, a food writer who loves to eat and eats out frequently, lost thirty-five pounds and saw marked improvement in his blood levels by simply cutting meat and processed foods out of two of his three daily meals. But the simple truth, as he points out, is that as long as you eat more vegetables and whole grains, the result will be better health for you and for the world in which we live.

Unlike most things that are virtuous and healthful, Bittman's plan doesn't involve sacrifice. The recipes in Food Matters are flavorful and sophisticated. A month's worth of meal plans shows you how Bittman chooses to eat and offers proof of how satisfying a mindful and responsible diet can be. Cheaper, healthier, and socially sound, Food Matters represents the future of American eating.

Praise

"[A] no-nonsense volume loaded with compelling information about how the food we eat is doing damage to the environment, what changes to make and why…Bittman takes a practical turn by concluding with 77 recipes that make earth-friendly eating doable and appealing... [Bittman] doesn't leave off without some sweets ... suggesting, as the whole book does, that a diet in synch with the needs of the earth doesn't result in a sense of utter deprivation." — Publishers Weekly

"The first half of the book focuses on the current state of American agriculture ... The second half focuses on changing all that ... Each recipe includes many variations, with simplicity and flexibility encouraged throughout. Well written and thought-provoking, with appetizing recipes," — Library Journal

"Like Michael Pollan in In Defense of Food, Bittman takes a commonsense approach, telling readers that it's simple to eat well: Just 'eat less meat and junk food, eat more vegetables and whole grains.' Indeed, Food Matters reads like a practical companion to Pollan's book." — The Washington Post

"Intelligent, insightful, poignant, funny, endlessly entertaining and perpetually thought-provoking." — David Liss, author of Whiskey Rebels

About the Author

Mark Bittman is the author of Food Matters, The Food Matters Cookbook, How to Cook Everything, How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, and other cookbooks, and of the weekly New York Times column, The Minimalist. His work has appeared in countless newspapers and magazines, and he is a regular on the Today show. Mr. Bittman has hosted two public television series and has appeared in a third.