Edible Explorations Book Club: Diet for a Hot Planet by Anna Lappe

This book is a great introduction to the topics of sustainable eating and the climate crisis. Lappe writes in an intelligent way, not dumbing her writing down, as if readers would not be able to understand. She uses mainly scientific and academic sources in her writing, and does not fall into the trap of making unsupported statements that a lot of general information books do. I personally prefer someone who speaks intelligently and supports her claims with published facts.

As far as the topic she was writing about, it was a mix of new information and a lot of things I already knew (but I tend to read a lot about this stuff). I think we, the general public, need a book like this right now. It breaks down what the problem is, why it's a problem, and gives us suggestions for how we can actually do something about it. Lappe also shows us how large corporations are essentially fooling us into thinking they are doing something about the climate problems. She illustrates how they are using smart advertising and innovative language in an attempt to avoid doing anything at all.

Unfortunately, I came away from this book feeling a little overwhelmed by how big of a problem this is and not really knowing where to begin. I did make note of many of the resources she provides, so perhaps that will help me to continue researching. The main thing I took away from this book is that I need to be much more careful about what brands of products I am buying, where the ingredients are coming from, and what policies these corporations are following. I get too easily lulled into the "everything at Whole Foods is alright" trap. It's really not. We all need to be watchdogs to take care of what is going into our bodies, the land we live on, the water we drink, etc.

I really liked Lappe's idea of saying it's ok to eat beef/red meat, but to cut down how much you are eating and to buy higher quality meat instead. Also, I will be much more careful about ordering in restaurants, because that is a way that I can really impact the industry. If I am making choices based on where the product comes from and the treatment of the animals, the restaurant will be forced to also, and so on...and as someone who has tasted grass-fed beef, it really does taste much better to boot!