The Ethical Carnivore: My Year Killing to Eat

The Ethical Carnivore: My Year Killing to Eat

by Louise Gray (Author), Louise Gray (Author), Louise Gray (Author)

Synopsis

Winner of 2 awards at the 2017 Guild of Food Writers Awards: Food Book Award and Campaigning and Investigative Food Work Award Shortlisted for the 2017 Fortnum & Mason Food Book of the Year A BBC Radio 4 Food Programme Book of the Year 2016 A Guardian Book of the Year 2016 We should all know exactly where our meat comes from. But what if you took this modern-day maxim to its logical conclusion and only ate animals you killed yourself? Louise Gray decides to be an ethical carnivore and learn to stalk, shoot and fish. Starting small, Louise shucks oysters and catches a trout. As she begins to reconnect with nature, she befriends countrymen and women who can teach her to shoot pigeons, rabbits and red deer. Louise begins to look into how meat is processed, including the beef in our burgers, cheap chicken, supermarket bacon and farmed fish. She investigates halal slaughter and visits abattoirs to ask whether new technology can make eating meat more humane. Delving into alternative food cultures, Louise finds herself sourcing roadkill and cooking a squirrel stir-fry, and she explores eating other sources of protein like in vitro meat, insects and plant-based options. With the global demand for meat growing, Louise argues that eating less meat should be an essential part of fighting climate change for all of us. Her writing on nature, food and the environment is full of humour, while never shying from the hard facts. Louise gets to the heart of modern anxieties about where our meat comes from, asking an important question for our time - is it possible to be an ethical carnivore?

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More Information

Format: paperback
Publisher: Bloomsbury Natural History
Published:

ISBN 10: 1472933109
ISBN 13: 9781472933102
Book Overview: By only eating animals she has killed herself for a year, Louise Gray explores our relationship with the animals we eat and contemplates how we might reconnect with the natural world through food.

Media Reviews
A highly original work, executed with complete conviction. Heart-warming, engaging and impossible to put down, it treats a challenging subject unflinchingly. Recommended reading. -- Juror, 2017 Guild of Food Writers Awards
A charming and eye-opening book. The accounts of hunting trips with her father contain vivid and quite moving nature writing. * the Guardian *
A carefully balanced yet truthful and unpreachy book. -- Hattie Ellis, author of Planet Chicken and The One Pot Cook
Beautifully written. Brave and personal. -- Kerstin Rodgers, author of V is for Vegan
This humane, adventurous and wonderfully illuminating exploration will entertain and challenge everyone, from carnivore to vegan. -- Patrick Barkham, author of Badgerlands and The Butterfly Isles
Vivid, visceral and honest. Gray observes without ever being detached, and that's a rare talent. -- Ella Risbridger, author of Eating with My Fingers
Well paced, well researched and politically even-handed. * Country Life *
Compellingly readable, wise and kind. There's plenty of serious reflection too, all the more arresting for Gray's lightness of touch. -- Charles Foster, author of Being a Beast
Superb. Brilliantly written and needed to be said. -- Tim Hayward, author of Knife and The DIY Cook
A very personal, heartwarming book that carries you along like a good novel. The writer's dedication to her subject is inspiring and she totally throws herself into her research. Brave and ruthlessly honest, it will change the way you think. -- Juror, Food Book Award, 2017 Guild of Food Writers Awards
The author more than earns her stripes... It's impossible not to admire her. * The Evening Standard *
A fascinating insight... The book is neither preachy nor lacking in laughs. Gray writes with humour and humanity. * Sunday Herald *
A thorough, engaging, sometimes shocking account of where our meat comes from. It is also, importantly, a book about caring. -- Malachy Tallack, author of Sixty Degrees North * Caught by the River *
This brave project by Louise Gray is told in beautiful, descriptive prose that shows her love and knowledge of nature. * Sunday Post *
[The book is] not a reflection on whether or not to become a vegetarian ... Gray believes we can eat meat ethically, going for quality ahead of quantity. * i *
She writes well and this is a book that all should read - but it isn't simply a duty, it's a gritty pleasure. -- Mark Avery, author of Inglorious
Louise Gray is a micromaster. * The Scotsman *
This is a must read for anyone who wants to know more about where the meat and fish they eat comes from ... and the environmental and social impact. * The Press and Journal *
This is a really important exploration of the meat industry, our relationship with meat and animals through history and offers an insight into what the future could hold - but it's also a good read that reads like you're talking to an old friend down the pub. -- Liz O'Keefe, food journalist and author of The Mushroom Cookbook
Author Bio
Louise Gray is a freelance writer based in Scotland. She trained with The Press Association and was a staff writer for The Scotsman. From 2008 to 2013 she was Environment Correspondent for The Daily Telegraph. Louise specialises in writing about food, farming and climate change. In recent years she has written for The Sunday Times, Scottish Field, the Guardian and The Spectator, among others. She has also appeared on BBC television and radio. Louise is passionate about environmental issues, increasingly focusing on how individuals can make a difference through the choices they make, such as the food we eat. The Ethical Carnivore is her first book. @loubgray / louisebgray.com