Conscientious Cook: Your Stories

Not so many years ago, all that was required of a great cook was that he or she know how to choose ingredients for a meal and prepare them in a way that was attractive and palate pleasing.

We're all here in The Kitchen because we love food, but that’s not enough anymore. The food we purchase and prepare in our kitchens carries both political and moral baggage.

From depleted seafood species, to despicable beef feeding lots, to overcrowded egg factories kept brightly lit around the clock, to the amount of fossil fuels used to ship food around the globe, to the welfare of farm workers, even on organic farms, there’s a lot to consider when we decide what to eat. There’s too much media attention to ignore it. Whether we like it or not, the food we put on our plates today is about much more than taste.

In the last few years, almost everyone I know has changed the way they think about and shop for food. Some are avid locavores, some became vegans, others stopped eating factory farmed meat, others joined a CSA, and still others carry a Seafood Watch card around in their wallets. What about you? How have your thoughts around food evolved? Are you a more conscientious cook than you were 5 years ago? 10 years ago? Tell us about it.