The Third Plate: Field Notes on the Future of Food

The Third Plate: Field Notes on the Future of Food

Dan Barber

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Barber explores the evolution of American food from the 'first plate,' or industrially-produced, meat-heavy dishes, to the 'second plate' of grass-fed meat and organic greens, and says that both of these approaches are ultimately neither sustainable nor healthy. Instead, Barber proposes Americans should move to the 'third plate,' a cuisine rooted in seasonal productivity, natural livestock rhythms, whole-grains, and small portions of free-range meat.

Publication Year: 2014


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  • poetry180
    Apr 07, 2025
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    So I got most of the way through this and I could ignore his smarminess and I could ignore the way he breathlessly states basic facts as if we are all just learning them and I could ignore the way that His Farm in New York is just the Best Place Ever, but then he got to a part where he started rhapsodizing about the sad loss of the "farming system" (?!) of the antebellum South and that was the straw that broke the camel's back and I had to stop.

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  • ash23
    Apr 02, 2025
    Enjoyment: Quality: Characters: Plot:

    Such an interesting look at the leading role chefs play in encouraging sustainable eating practices. I especially enjoyed that the book ended with a tour of The Bread Farm in Bow. Really cool to see a small-town bakery I used to shop at get recognised by a chef based in New York.

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