The Third Plate Summary

“What we choose to eat determines how the world is used.” This book answers a vital question: Can we sustain and savor a healthier planet through the way we eat?

1. Chefs Can Spark Sustainable Eating Trends

Our eating habits in the Western world heavily emphasize meat and fish, which depletes natural resources and harms the environment. It’s time to reconsider the role of chefs in steering us toward a sustainable cuisine.

Chefs have the spotlight on their menus and heavily influence dining trends. Currently, restaurants emphasize premium cuts of meat or fish, relegating vegetables to a secondary role. This practice amplifies the unsustainable demand for animal protein and disregards the need for diversity in our diets. For instance, one pound of beef requires about 13 pounds of grain feed, creating an environmental strain.

Rather than promoting heavy animal consumption, chefs could reshape our preferences by using a broader range of ingredients and vegetables in starring roles. This encouragement of balanced pairings between animal and plant foods would better reflect nature’s ecosystem.

Examples

• Restaurants highlight cuts like beef steaks or fish filets, but these represent only a fraction of the animal.
• It takes 13 pounds of feed to produce a single pound of beef, making it wasteful.
• By championing plant diversity in dishes, chefs encourage agricultural sustainability and biodiversity.

2. The Modern Wheat Revolution

The wheat we consume today is drastically different from the wheat of 100 years ago, thanks to advancements in processing and monoculture farming.

Roller mills introduced in the late 1800s revolutionized wheat production by extending its shelf life. However, this process removed the nutrient-rich germ, stripping wheat of minerals and fatty acids. Over time, legislation like the Enlarged Homestead Act of 1909 incentivized widespread wheat farming, leading to monocultures across the Midwest. This shift not only changed how wheat was grown but also increased environmental degradation.

This modern milling left us with a staple food that lacks both taste and nutrients, highlighting the need for crop diversity and regional self-sufficiency in agriculture.

Examples

• Roller mills removed nutrients for longer-lasting flour.
• During WWI, American wheat was exported to Europe on a massive scale.
• Today’s average American consumes 130 pounds of wheat a year, more than any other grain.

3. The Harmful Effects of Monoculture

Monoculture farming drains soil nutrients and wrecks ecosystems, leaving land barren and over-reliant on chemical fertilizers.

Take the Dust Bowl of the 1930s as an example. Farmers had replaced biodiversity with hard wheat monocultures, which offered shallow root systems susceptible to drought. Overuse of land without soil restoration transformed fertile plains into dusty wastelands. Indigenous farming used techniques like the “three sisters,” a method where corn, beans, and squash were grown together to replenish nutrients naturally.

Modern chemical fertilizers compensate for this depletion but cause water pollution, creating dead zones in rivers and oceans.

Examples

• Native Americans grew corn, beans, and squash to replenish soil nutrients.
• In the Dust Bowl era, thin-rooted wheat failed under drought conditions.
• Fertilizer runoff contributes to dead marine zones, such as the Gulf of Mexico.

4. Poor Soil Means Bland and Unhealthy Food

Depleted soil grows stressed plants that lack flavor and essential nutrients, leading to diminished health outcomes and unsatisfying meals.

Plants absorb fewer nutrients when grown in drained soil, making them more vulnerable to disease and pests. A mid-20th-century study by agronomist William Albrecht linked poor soil with poorer health in WWII recruits. Taste also suffers—healthy soil produces sweeter, more flavorful vegetables like carrots bursting with sugar, unlike their bland, industrially farmed counterparts.

This nutrient loss over decades correlates with higher obesity rates as people consume more calories in search of satisfaction from nutrient-poor foods.

Examples

• Carrots grown in healthy soil at Stone Barns contain 16.9% sugar, compared to 0% in industrial carrots.
• Albrecht’s WWII study showed healthier recruits came from nutrient-rich soil areas.
• Nutrient dilution forces overconsumption for vitamins and minerals.

5. Large-Scale Meat Production Wastes Resources

Modern meat production produces more but uses less of each animal. Most parts are discarded or sold as by-products, amplifying waste.

In the 1920s, chickens were bred for eggs, but by the 1970s, companies like Perdue were selling pre-cut parts, driven by health trends favoring boneless, skinless chicken. As a result, only select portions of each animal are eaten. This pattern is also reflected across other meats, with excess parts turned into fertilizers or pet food.

Returning to a nose-to-tail or even blood-to-bone cooking philosophy could make meat consumption more efficient and respectful of our food resources.

Examples

• Modern chickens grow to slaughter weight in just seven weeks due to specialized breeds.
• By the 1990s, processed chicken accounted for 80% of sales.
• Other unused parts of animals end up as pet food or industrial products.

6. The Spanish Dehesa: A Farming Model of Harmony

The dehesa ecosystem in Spain combines biodiversity with sustainable agriculture to produce high-quality food like Jamón Ibérico and artisanal cheeses.

This system combines grazing Merino sheep, Iberian pigs, and oak trees. Pigs feed on acorns, influencing their unique nutty flavor, while geese naturally develop fatty livers in winter for foie gras. This biodiverse farming approach mimics natural systems and replenishes the land while producing world-renowned foods.

It proves that sustainable food production doesn’t have to compromise flavor—it enhances it.

Examples

• Iberian pigs roam freely in dehesas, eating acorns to form healthy fats.
• Merino sheep produce exquisite cheeses, like Torta del Casar.
• Free-range geese create foie gras naturally by preparing for winter.

7. The Costs of Overfishing

Our oceans have been significantly depleted due to overfishing and the environmental fallout of industrial agriculture.

WWII technology adapted for bottom trawling has led to excessive fishing, pushing many species to the brink of extinction. Adding to the ocean’s woes, chemical runoff from agriculture creates dead zones where no marine life can thrive.

Chefs like Ángel Léon show that sustainable fishing does work by focusing on underutilized fish parts and creating dishes that make better use of marine resources.

Examples

• Fishing yields increased from 19 million tons in 1950 to 87 million tons in 2005.
• 85% of fish stocks are now endangered.
• Dead zones, like the 80,000 square miles in the Gulf of Mexico, reflect agriculture's toll on the seas.

8. Better Ways to Farm Fish

Traditional fish farms harm the shorelines they occupy, but innovative practices offer a better way forward.

Modern fish farms require several pounds of wild fish for every pound of farmed fish they produce, straining wild populations. However, farms like Veta la Palma in Spain take a different approach. By using estuary systems, they allow phytoplankton and shrimp to thrive, providing natural food for fish while purifying overfertilized waters.

This biodiverse approach mirrors natural systems to create tastier, healthier seafood.

Examples

• Traditional farms undermine shorelines, the ocean's most active ecosystems.
• Veta la Palma mimics natural estuaries to farm fish sustainably.
• The farm filters chemical-laden river water while producing quality seafood.

9. Seeds Are the Foundation of Our Food Future

Hybrid crops have boosted yields but fueled harmful monocultures. The key to sustainable farming lies in seed biodiversity.

Hybrids like Norman Borlag’s dwarf wheat transformed global agriculture by increasing yields but also led to over-reliance on single crops and chemical fertilizers. A return to native seeds and local grain varieties could help restore biodiversity to fields and plates alike.

Culinary traditions rooted in what grows locally create deliciously diverse dishes and connect us to the land.

Examples

• Borlag’s wheat tripled yields but needed heavy fertilizer use.
• By 1963, Mexico used 95% of Borlag's hybrid wheat.
• Diverse diets and seed varieties curb disease and promote healthier ecosystems.

Takeaways

1. Use every part of the animal or plant to reduce waste and honor the resources that nourish us.
2. Support farmers markets, biodiverse farms, and chefs advocating for sustainable cuisine.
3. Experiment with diverse grains and foods at home, building menus that align with sustainable rotation farming.