Did we mention how much we love working with our Editorial Director Alexandra Zissu?

I am not sure how she does it all. I suspect she has no sleep, perhaps she has an identical twin. How else could she produce Practically Green’s actions, write occasional pieces for The New York Times, consult on healthy living, advise her mother on wallpaper, think of putting her woolens into the freezer in moth season (i.e., now), play in afternoon puddles with her kindergartener? And always look so stylish when we skype? (And I think she might be married to some sort of a celebrity, too….)

I may never know. But on top of all that, Lexy’s book The Butcher’s Guide to Well-Raised Meat, is about to come out. Every carnivore on your list should own it. It’s just in time for grilling season and Father’s Day, and we want to announce it to the world. (Click here for a meatball recipe…. For The Perfect Steak, see p. 175. For Bite-Your-Tongue-Tacos, p. 185. For Chicken Rub: p. 216. I could go on and on.)

*          *          *       OVER TO LEXY:      *          *          *

There is tremendously much to be gained from exclusively buying and eating meat from animals that were raised sustainably: it’s better for the animals, it’s better for the earth, it’s better for the farmers, it’s better for us. I believe so strongly in this that I devote an entire chapter to understanding what this means and how to obtain it in my second book, The Conscious Kitchen. But one chapter wasn’t quite enough. Which is why I spent the past year and a half plus writing a book, my fourth, The Butcher’s Guide To Well-Raised Meat: How To Buy, Cut, And Cook Great Beef, Lamb, Pork, Poultry, And More, with Joshua and Jessica Applestone of Fleisher’s Grass-fed and Organic Meats in Kingston, New York. It comes out June 7^th and I can’t wait to share it with you.

Beyond the writing there were visits to farms, slaughters, slaughterhouses. I watched countless animals being broken down from whole to parts (oddly ballet-like and beautiful to see burly men and women find and coax out cuts like constellations in a sky of flesh); a lost art in a world of shrink wrapped meat parts in supermarkets. I even donned a mesh apron and attempted to carve a little myself–it’s a lot harder than it looks.

I once went on a trip to a Wal-Mart with Jessica, one of her apprentices who now owns a shop in L.A., and the master butcher who has taught generations of chefs at the Culinary Institute of America. There we read packages for three straight hours, getting a true sense of what conventionally-raised meat looks like. Back at the shop, Jess walked the apprentice through a taste test: the Wal-Mart meat versus what she sells. I balked, refusing to put conventionally-raised meat in my mouth. There was a little tension that day, but I think everyone understood it was my deep conviction and understanding of what happens to conventionally-raised animals that made me the right writer for this project. Kept in cages and pens, hopped up on drugs (scary hormones and antibiotics), and fed the most horrible genetically modified crap imaginable.

It is amazing to me that the general public knows so little about what they eat, and yet willingly dines on — and feeds their children — meat from truly unhealthy animals containing residues of these drugs and this feed. We are what we eat. We are also what the animal we ate ate, too. If I served you a plate of chicken shit, would you puree it and spoon-feed it to your baby? No. But this is considered acceptable cattle feed, according to our government. And we offer those cattle to our families. I. Cannot. Put. That. In. My. Body.

Sustainable isn’t a government defined or third party certified term, unlike USDA organic. The key factor in something truly sustainable is therefore human interaction: I know my butcher and they know their farmers and their slaughterhouse guys and how they operate. This trust is better to me than USDA organic. I know the right questions to ask anyone selling at the farmers’ market to see if I also trust them. It’s clearly not as deep of an understanding as I have with my butcher, but we describe in The Butcher’s Guide To Well-Raised Meat the sort of questions you want to have answered to establish a similar trust. I prefer meat from local small farm pastured animals to something that might be raised on a big farm far from where I live, then frozen and shipped to me, even if the latter has been certified organic.

Finding sustainably raised meat can be a challenge. But in The Butcher’s Guide To Well-Raised Meat we explain how to find it no matter where you live. So if you don’t happen to live in and around the Hudson Valley, or near Brooklyn, where Fleisher’s is opening a second shop in September, you can still find well-raised meat near you. Just because something is local doesn’t mean it is automatically sustainable. You’re looking for healthy farming practices that don’t harm the environment, humane animal treatment, support of farming communities, fair wages and treatment for laborers. And you need to know your producers so you can trust what they’re saying about pesticides and fertilizers, hormones and non-therapeutic antibiotics. Fleisher’s doesn’t freeze and ship; that’s unsustainable.

Consumers can play a big role in what is and isn’t sustainable. Not only should we be seeking out sustainable meat, but also we shouldn’t be eating tons of it. Raising animals for food is an energy intensive experience. To lower the impact, we can reduce how much we eat. This will also help even out the cost of switching from conventional (cheap) to sustainable (more expensive) meat. We have great tips in the book on how to eat pastured meat on a budget. Being a conscious consumer means understanding that if you’re buying from people who are raising and selling whole animals, it’s sustainable to eat the whole animal. There is only one hanger steak on an entire steer. So if you get to a shop or a farmers’ market and there is no hanger left, that’s why. Don’t walk away because you didn’t get what you wanted; it’s the rare person that gets the hanger when you’re not buying boxed conventional meat. Buy something else. Ask what else tastes similar that is still available, or what else might be good. And don’t forget to ask for cooking instructions or check out the recipes in The Butcher’s Guide To Well-Raised Meat. Something that was outside roaming instead of penned up all of its life will be leaner and more muscular and therefore need to be cooked differently.

Enjoy!

P.S. Just noticed the tiny tagline on Lexy’s website, an enchanting stream of consciousness rivulet: “research obsessed writer trying to help you make the world a better eco friendlier place one simple nontoxic step at a time for us and our children and their children and the earth we share”. Exactly.

Early bird reviews:

“Particularly handy are the easy-to-use guides that reveal the best cooking methods for specific cuts of meat, ensuring that you’ll never make the mistake of deep-frying a cow spleen again. Let grilling season commence! TimeOutNewYork

“…clear, useful instruction on dealing with cuts of beef, lamb, pork, and poultry, interesting meditations on sustainable dining, and a dozen or so recipes thrown in for good measure.”
 Publishers Weekly