Louise Gray : The Ethical Carnivore

Today’s discussion of the ethics of meat-eating is more intense than ever;  Vegetarian cooking is booming, and celebrity chefs, from Jamie Oliver to Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, all dictate we should know exactly where our meat comes from. In her new book The Ethical Carnivore Louise Gray brings a fresh, interesting, and intelligent voice to the debate. Drawing upon her experience as a journalist, Gray has delivered a thoroughly engaging and humorous report on eating meat, the modern meat industry, and its relation to the consumer.

The Ethical Carnivore: My Year Killing To Eat, follows the varied routes meat takes to our plates.  Starting small, Gray shucks oysters and catches fish. Gradually she gets to know countrymen and women who teach her how to shoot pigeons and rabbits. As she begins to reconnect with nature and her own upbringing in the countryside, Gray starts to question modern attitudes to the meat we eat. The Ethical Carnivore is a charming and richly researched meditation on the ethics of contemporary meat eating, the importance of source awareness, and the environmental repercussions of the trade.

 Louise Gray is former Environment Correspondent at The Daily Telegraph, where she covered annual UN talks on climate change, travelled to Paraguay to investigate GM crops and got more than one scoop on recycling. Since leaving the newspaper at the end of 2013 she has written freelance for The Sunday Times, Guardian, Country Life and Spectator, and has also appeared on BBC Radio 4.