There’s a lot I liked about this book—it’s informative, well-written, and seems to be well researched. I appreciate how she contextualizes things; eg, yes, it does take a lot of water to grow almonds for almond milk. But! It takes more water to produce cow’s milk. I also like that while she does explain a lot of the health and environmental issues with eating meat, but doesn’t insist you go vegan—instead, she offers info on how to make the best choices as a meat eater (not relevant for me as I’m already vegetarian, but still a good approach). I do wish there had been less talk about the “obesity epidemic” (BMI is basically meaningless as a measurement, as it was invented for insurance companies to categorize people and only considers white men. Also, fatphobia does a lot of harm) and calorie counts. Not everyone is looking to minimize calories, and health is not eating as few calories as possible. Still, I felt like I learned a lot from this and she gave a lot of great, doable action steps towards eating better.

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. There was nothing in this book that I haven't read before.

Making good food decisions these days is exhausting. Egan looks at whether choices are good for the planet, for you, for others, etc., and advocates a largely flexitarian diet. She covers which fruits and vegetables to buy organic, how much water it takes to produce a serving of different kinds of food (beef is a shocking amount), restaurant eating, and more. A useful reference for medium and large library collections, although it will probably appeal to left-leaning and conservationist more than conservative readers.

This book is a great jumping off point on what to include in your diet and why it should be good for you and the planet. It provides many additional resources if you'd like to do additional research. Encouraging flexitarian-ism,the author goes through various food groups to promote a diet filled with whole foods - mainly fruits, vegetables and whole grains, some meat. "Every day, about three times a day, each one of us has responsibility, and delicious opportunity, to align our food choices with our personal values." She writes to address our two most pressing challenges: obesity and climate change, and in doing so provides sounds, actionable advice.

I thought this book was really well organized and well written. It provided me with a wealth of information on so many thing relating to being a conscious eater. I highly recommend this book to anyone concerned with the environment and food safety.

I received an e-ARC of this book by the author and publishing via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

Disclaimer: I was given an eARC of this book by Workman Publishing Company via NetGalley in exchange for an honest opinion.

I really liked how this book tied what you eat to not only your physical health but also to the health of the planet. I did already know much of what is in this book from other books I have read and documentaries but I really liked how she put all of it together in a very easy to read format.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in learning more about the U.S. food industry.

" Using three criteria—Is it good for me? Is it good for others? Is it good for the planet?—Sophie Egan helps us navigate the bewildering world of food so that we can all become conscious eaters. To eat consciously is not about diets, fads, or hard-and-fast rules. It’s about having straightforward, accurate information to make smart, thoughtful choices amid the chaos of conflicting news and marketing hype. An expert on food’s impact on human and environmental health, Egan organizes the book into four categories—stuff that comes from the ground, stuff that comes from animals, stuff that comes from factories, and stuff that’s made in restaurant kitchens. This practical guide offers bottom-line answers to your most top-of-mind questions about what to eat."
What we eat not only affects our health but the environment as well.
Helpful and informative book.

Pub Date: 17 Mar 2020
I was given a complimentary copy of this book. Thank you.
All opinions expressed are my own,

I received this book as a free ARC. I tried to read it but only made it through the first part by skimming. I could not get interested in the topic. This is not a critic of the writer as I feel she has important things to talk about like the labeling of foods. I did learn that I did not know that coffee could get a bird friendly rating if it was grown in the shade. I could see people who wish to eat healthy and make conscious decisions choosing this book

This is a pretty good book for an absolute beginner cook, but has alot of common information in it. I'm pretty experienced in the kitchen and with nutrition so this book fell a bit short for me.

While Sophie Egan has a background in the culinary arts and attempts to present a rounded discussion of topics throughout her book, there are still some challenges. As a practical guide this is a good place to start for a novice looking to start a journey into more conscious consumption of foodstuff. Her ethos of "Good for you, good for others, good for the planet" is catchy and easy to remember when out and about in the course of everyday life. By providing the tiered layout to this book Sophie lays out how anyone can eat to have a better impact on more than just themselves. Whenever it comes to such a critical topic as food choices and the environment I like to see some form of reference list at the end of the book, this demonstrates to me that the author consulted resources and is trying to give them proper credit. All in all, this is a good resource though with its challenges around presenting a balanced discussion and lack of citation I will most likely not actively recommend the book in Readers' Advisory interactions.

When I first read the description of this book, I thought it would be a dietician's guide to making healthy food choices that were also better for the environment. Instead, it was a mish-mash of information about all of the problems with mass food production today. Egan has a science background and hails from the Earth Systems Program at Stanford, and she talks about pesticides, the amount of water it takes to produce the food we eat, and how global warming affects agriculture. There are a lot of graphs included in the book that show various food pyramids, the best cooking oils with their smoke points, and the right kind of fish or seafood to eat, among others. The book as a whole didn't come together and left me feeling conflicted about which was the lesser evil when choosing what to eat. *Advance copy provided by the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

I've been practicing what this book saying for so long, so I don't find anything new in this book. I already knew the issues long before I read this book. But I still read it until the end. I like the topic. I wish we have more books like this. Talking about how we should consume things and also consider the impacts on the environment. I would give this book to friends that are still looking for a healthier and eco-friendly lifestyle. I would suggest this book. But for people who are already practicing what's inside, I think this is just for refreshing the thoughts.
Also, this book isn't something that can convince you to change your lifestyle drastically. I mean I find the writing style is more informative rather than provocative. A lot of useful information from this book, especially if you are living in the US.

I was surprised by this book. I was expecting it to be more health consciousness in eating than political. That's my bad for not reading the description carefully before requesting a review copy provided by the publisher via Netgalley. Still, my honest opinion is that the author's opinions are presented well and there is useful information about making healthier choices both in eating and packaging.
As the book progresses, the author uses cherry picked facts with documentation to back up her assertions. In the end, it felt preachy and judgemental.

I have been on a journey with my food choices and while I still do enjoy a good bbq burger and packaged candy I try and fill my diet mainly with plant based options, unpackaged snacks, and foods that are both healthier for me and for the planet. This book both encouraged me as well as challenged me in some areas that I wasn't as interested in before.

This book is divided into four sections: food from the ground, food from animals, food from packages, and food from restaurants and through the book Sophie goes through every based on three guidelines: is it good for me, is it good for others, and is it good for the planet?

The book is beautiful and I love all of the infographics and diagrams that fill up the book and make it more fun to read. I also thought that the information was laid out in a way that makes the complex statistics easier to read. I especially liked when she broke down labels and claims and what was actually telling the truth and what was fluff.

While some information wasn't entirely relevant to me as I am in Canada and our labels and standards can differ, I really enjoyed this book and I am sure I will continue to think about it in the future.

At the end of the day, this book just isn't for me. From the get-go I'm not sure the author is really the person who should be tackling these issues. I'm sure this book is very well-researched, but if I can get this type of information from someone who is a nutritionist instead of a journalist by trade, that's what I would do. It does provide some very interesting facts and perspective on food-related questions and issues, but it's not something I would run out to purchase or recommend.

A really great and useful book. A very helpful guide when deciding if you want to make lifestyle changes and how they will affect you, and the world we live in.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
How to Be a Conscious Eater by Sophie Egan is a great book for anyone interested in learning to be a more conscious eater, whether that means eating more mindfully for the body or finding ways to have a smaller trace on the environment. The book is peppered with a lot of knowledge, which I felt like I learned from. Definitely recommend if you're a foodie!

Thank you to Workman Publishing and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book serves well as a guide to choosing food more thoughtfully, to making more of a conscious decision to see the bigger picture when food shopping, to eat better and be aware of the environmental costs for the food choices we make. Much of this information is already out there, but I liked the way it was put together in this book.

However, readers should be aware of the fact that the author is a journalist and not a nutritionist - and in some of the issues she tackles, this is very noticeable, e.g. placing herself as an expert although lacking the proper qualifications. lack of clear facts, some emotional arguments and a preachy tone rather than scientific evaluation.

3.5 stars, rounded up to 4

I thought this was an interesting book, it wasn't my favorite to read and it was kind of hard to get going, but it does have some good information in it.

There is a lot of great information in this book. I learned a lot from it. However, I think there are some important issues that were not given the attention they deserve. For example, she writes about the Five Freedoms of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and lists the food labeling that signifies a manufacturer has adhered to these standards. However, she doesn't point out that virtually no manufacturers do this. Meat, dairy, and eggs from any fast food establishment and all but very few farm to table style restaurants exclusively serve factory farmed, very cruelly produced meat. Also, "what you can do" to avoid "superbugs" in meat is to not eat meat.