The Blue Plate: A Food Lover's Guide to Climate Chaos

Table of Contents:
Foreword "From Nice Ingredients to Collective Economic Regeneration" by Anthony Mynt

Introduction

Chapter 1 The Excited Skin of the Planet

Chapter 2 The Unnatural Green of Desert Vegetables

Chapter 3 The Salmon Forests

Chapter 4 The Corn Eaters

Chapter 5 Steve's Peaches

Chapter 6 The Cow in the Room

Chapter 7 Cecil's Hands

Chapter 8 The Feast of the Legions

Chapter 9 The Blue Plate

Carbon Footprint Disclosure

"Mark J. Easter's The Blue Plate is a rare book: scientifically rigorous, politically aware, and deeply readable. It makes a powerful case that how we grow, ship, and consume food matters--not just for individual health or culinary pleasure, but for the future of the planet. By turning the dinner plate into a map of climate choices, Easter offers a vision of sustainability that is inclusive, hopeful, and urgently needed.

This is not just a book for foodies or farmers--it is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the intersection of climate, culture, and consumption. With clarity and heart, Easter invites us to see food not as a private matter but as a public opportunity for climate repair." -- Politics and Rights Review

"The Blue Plate is the food book of the decade, and it tastes like hope. With the story-telling chops of Michael Pollen, the ethics of Thoreau, and the climate expertise of James Hanson, Mark Easter lays it all out: We CAN feed the world and nourish the earth at the same time. Here is how it can be done. And here is how you can participate. Authoritative, entertaining, and useful -- this is the book I have been waiting for." -- Kathleen Dean Moore, author of Encouragement for Earth's Weary Lovers

"Tag along with one of the premier scientists studying our food system's carbon footprint, as he takes us on a fascinating journey to meet the farmers, ranchers, and composters who are dramatically slashing emissions and transforming agriculture from a climate problem to a climate solution." -- Liz Carlisle, author of Lentil Underground, Grain by Grain, and Healing Grounds

"Calling all foodies! Calling all soil and earth-loving readers! The Blue Plate is a lively look at the carbon footprint of our food -- a journey that takes us across America and zooms in on our favorite eats. Similar in spirit to Rising: Dispatches from the New American Shore by Elizabeth Rush, this book directs an honest gaze at what's going on - and what we can do about it. Grounded in science, and yet told in story, this book teaches, inspires, and informs. From peaches to bread to beer to fish, The Blue Plate is indeed about our planet, our plates, and our future." - Laura Pritchett, winner of the PEN USA Award, the Colorado Book Award, and author of The Blue Hour, Stars Go Blue, and Red Lightning.

"In a well-structured mash up of research, analysis, and - above all - story, Mark Easter has created one of the most compelling books about climate change in recent memory. Or wait, is it about food? That's the beauty of the book - it is truly about both, and how our daily choices about what to put on our plates ties us into a global network of food production and delivery that has been the largest contributor to global warming, yet also holds the key to reversing the trend. In they end, they give the readers the power that only knowledge can instill: how to make the choices that support a food system that heals both body and planet...how to create blue plates." - Kate Williams, CEO of 1% for the Planet.

"Mark Easter gives us a different way of looking at food and a different way of looking at climate change. He clearly loves food and has something important to say about it." -- Mark Kurlansky, bestselling author of Salmon, Cod, Salt, and many other books

"Every bite we take--whether from a peach, a lamb chop, or a chunk of braised tofu--has an impact on a landscape somewhere in the world. Many thanks to Mark Easter for his thoughtful and comprehensive appraisal of the methods by which our food is produced and for this roadmap to align our eating with our concerns for the planet's health." --Kristin Ohlson, author of Sweet in Tooth and Claw and The Soil Will Save Us

"Anyone asking "Can we eat ourselves out of the climate crisis?" should begin with this book. Mark Easter offers not only a beautiful hymn to the elements, but a wonderful introduction to the difficult demands that science makes of us when we ask the most difficult questions with deep honesty and commitment." -- Raj Patel, author of Stuffed and Starved: The Hidden Battle for the World Food System

"An entertaining, enlightening, and uplifting guide to the food-climate connection."--David R. Montgomery, co-author of What Your Food Ate and The Hidden Half of Nature

"A feast of vivid stories about the future of agriculture -- and the future of us all. Let ecologist Mark Easter fill your plate with hope." -- Michelle Nijhuis, author of Beloved Beasts: Fighting for Life in an Age of Extinction

"The Blue Plate is an excellent primer on where food comes from--with a reminder that if people are what they eat, they need to be conscientious about that consumption." -- Foreword Reviews

"Author and ecologist Easter takes readers on a worldwide tour of food production--a tour that shows exactly where ecology meets the dinner plate. . . . collectively leaving readers with a sense of hope and purpose." -- Booklist

"Like everything Patagonia does, [this book] is elegant, gorgeous, and relevant." -- Lee Woodruff's Book Marks column

"While Easter is crystal clear about the massive threats facing our planet, this is a book built on the ideals of optimism, ingenuity, and taking action." -- Ed Roberson, Mountain and Prairie podcast

"The Blue Plateis more than a book--it's a call to conscience wrapped in the joy of good food. It's science for the soul, written in the tone of a wise friend who knows that change doesn't come from shame but from curiosity, compassion, and conversation. . . .It's a beautifully told, deeply researched, and emotionally resonant invitation to sit down, slow down, and look--really look--at what's for dinner. . . .Through storytelling, soil science, and lived experience, Mark offers us a graceful reminder: we are all participants in the ecosystem, not spectators." --Great Books, Great Minds

"A roadmap for eating well while making choices that matter." --The Ethicalist

"By connecting emissions data to tangible meals, Easter bridges the gap between global crisis and daily decisions, making climate-conscious eating both relevant and actionable." -- Politics and Rights Review

James Beard Award Finalist 2025, "Food Issues and Advocacy" Category

Winner, Gold Award, IBPA Book Awards

Ecologist Mark 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. Not a cookbook, but instead, gathered like guests around the table, you will find the stories of these foods: 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 far-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 not recipes but 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.

Review Citations:

• Booklist 09/01/2024 pg. 20 (EAN 9781952338205, Hardcover)
• Foreword 08/14/2024 (EAN 9781952338205, Hardcover)

Contributor Bio:Easter, Mark
Mark J. Easter is an ecologist who has conducted research in academia and private industry since 1988. He received a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Purdue University in 1982 and a M.S. in Botany from the University of Vermont in 1991.