In 2012, a major American cheesemaker was caught passing off a mix of cellulose and mozzarella byproduct as Parmesan. There wasn’t a speck of real Parmesan in the product! According to Sophie Egan, this wasn’t an isolated incident and much of the food we buy is fraudulent. What to do? Eat “whole foods,” she advises. For Parmesan, buy it whole and grate it yourself.
Egan’s new book, How to Be a Conscious Eater, is an informative plea in favor of healthy choices for individual as well as the planet. Egan, who is a program direct at the Culinary Institute of America and an essayist for The New York Times and Wired, is not vegan. However, she points to the production of animal-based foods to feed a growing population as a trigger for climate change. She recommends reducing meat consumption—especially red meat, as poultry and seafood “are of much lower concern for human and environmental health, though issues still abound regarding animal welfare.”
How to be a Conscious Eater offers specific guidelines. Keep dairy to 250 grams a day (a cup of yogurt or eight slices of cheese) and up the consumption of roasted veggies, avocado, nuts, chickpeas and other legumes. To be conscious, needless to add, is to be aware.
