The Carnivore's Manifesto: Eating Well, Eating Responsibly, and Eating Meat

by Patrick Martins, Mike Edison, Alice Waters Narrated by Mike Edison

Overview

One of The Atlantic's Best Food Books of 2014: fifty ways to be an enlightened carnivore, while taking better care of our planet and ourselves, from the founder of Slow Food USA.

We have evolved as meat eaters, proclaims Patrick Martins, and it's futile to deny it. But, given the destructive forces of the fast-food industry and factory farming, we need to make smart, informed choices about the food we eat and where it comes from.

In 50 short chapters, Martins cuts through organize zealotry and the misleading jargon of food labeling to outline realistic steps everyone can take to be part of the sustainable-food movement. With wit, and insight, and no small amount of provocation, The Carnivore's Manifesto is both a revolutionary call to arms and a rollicking good read that will inspire, engage, and challenge anyone interested in the way we eat today.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

05/05/2014
Martins, founder of Slow Foods USA and Heritage Foods USA, which distributes rare-breed, humanely raised heritage meats, clearly has a financial stake in getting people to turn their backs on factory farms and fast food, but he also puts his money where his mouth is. Using 50 ultrashort chapters full of one-liners (“Slow food is people. Not the same way that Soylent Green is people”) and featuring conversational prose straight out of Martins’s radio show, the author has created a blueprint for healthy eating, sustainable farming, biodiversity, as well as for protecting culinary traditions and cultural differences. Martins is passionate, preachy, and, above all, practical—he doesn’t want you to make your own ketchup or give up pizza, just to buy the best meat and produce that is in season and to chose “quality” food over “commodity” food. While he doesn’t solve problems like how low-income families can find or afford “quality food” or how “global warming is turning agricultural havens into deserts,” he does present a commonsense approach to eating, farming, and food processing that would benefit both our taste buds and our planet. Agent: Angela Miller, the Miller Agency. (June)

From the Publisher

"One of the best and most succinct arguments for buying sustainable food."—Corby Kummer, The Atlantic

"Passionate, thoughtful and more than occasionally amusing."—Ralph Gardner Jr., The Wall Street Journal

"The Carnivore's Manifesto is about a lot more than eating meat. It's about living well and having fun while being conscious of what goes into your body."—Mario Batali

"Patrick Martins is the shepherd of domesticated animal rights. Tend to them mercifully, then 'eat 'em if you want to keep 'em,' he's always said. This manifesto offers a unique perspective in an edgy, guerrilla style. You'll find it impossible to put to pasture."—Mark Ladner, executive chef at Del Posto, New York

"Read this book!"—Carlo Petrini, founder of Slow Food International

"Martins, founder of Slow Foods USA and Heritage Foods USA . . . has created a blueprint for healthy eating, sustainable farming, biodiversity, as well as for protecting culinary traditions and cultural differences. [He] is passionate, preachy, and, above all, practical-he doesn't want you to make your own ketchup or give up pizza, just to buy the best meat and produce that is in season and to chose "quality" food over "commodity" food."—Publisher's Weekly

Kirkus Reviews

2014-04-22
A loosely organized, lively and challenging collection of observations, ideas, philosophical meanderings and ethical concerns related to the meat we put on our plates.Along with former High Times editor Edison (Dirty! Dirty! Dirty!: Of Playboys, Pigs, and Penthouse Paupers—An American Tale of Sex and Wonder, 2011, etc.), Martins takes a scattershot approach to the discussion, dividing the book into 50 short chapters that cut a wide swath, covering everything from slow food principles to the inhumane treatment of animals on factory farms to how to build a slaughterhouse and the importance of biodiversity and rare heritage breeds. Martins uses the word têtoir for cultures and communities that hand down food traditions, creating distinctive flavors much in the way terroir gives wine its distinct characteristics. Martins, who founded Slow Food USA, now runs Heritage Foods USA, a purveyor of meats from farmers who humanely raise rare or heritage breeds without antibiotics or hormones. His free-ranging thought process, at times distracting, always comes back to slow food basics: "…sourcing responsibly, recognizing the farmer's work and understanding exactly what we are eating and where it comes from." For example, a dirt-scratching Narragansett turkey that freely roamed the barnyard will have a different taste than one raised in a windowless barn under bright lights, its beak and toenails removed, unable to stand due to its inordinately large breasts. Consumers may abhor such treatment, but are they ready to pay $140 for "a robust, healthy animal that lived a great life?" Martins recognizes that the economic realities of big agriculture vs. independent farmers, distributors and purveyors are the biggest obstacles to his manifesto, but he remains optimistic that consumer demand may eventually bring changes to the supply chain. It begins with getting to know the farmers, butchers and green grocers who bring food to our tables; it's about "provenance."A passionate call for "responsible meat-eating" and what that means, as well as an explanation of the small steps required for accomplishing it.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940170175932
Publisher:	Hachette Audio
Publication date:	06/10/2014
Edition description:	Unabridged

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