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Joseph Baker has lived in New York City for five years, where he has worked in various food and hospitality companies. Most recently, he worked on Martha Stewart’s food editorial team, where he gained a real appreciation for seasonal recipes with only the freshest local ingredients. Joseph is a 2003 graduate of Cornell’s School of Hotel Administration and a 2007 graduate from the Institute of Culinary Education. A brave man, he’ll be chronicling his foray into the world of vegetarianism here at the Green Fork.

Everyone is doing it. Oprah, Martha Stewart, my mother and sister, even my best friend. Resolutions about personal health and better eating. With the New Year come new expectations of ourselves, and this is one New Year’s party I’ve decided I want to attend. For 2009, my diet resolution is to be a vegetarian. My reasoning has less to do with health (although my cholesterol count is a concern) and more to do with
reducing my impact on the environment.

I’ve been tuned into sustainability for a little while now, but this open letter, issued last fall by Michael Pollan, via New York Times Magazine, to the country’s next president, got me thinking. Pollan writes that if every American had one vegetarian day a week, it’d have the same effect as removing 20 million mid-size sedans off the road. How? According to this report (pdf) by the UN’s Food and Agricultural Organization, the world’s livestock is responsible for approximately 18% of greenhouse gas emissions. That’s more than transportation!

As ruminants, cattle burp methane and release nitrous oxide from their solid waste. Figure in deforestation to create more pasture space, and be sure to add the strain on water systems around the globe not only for livestock to drink but also to grow their food. In addition, on CAFOs, manure often runs off into nearby rivers and streams. Pollan is calling us to take action one day each week. With careful consideration, I’ve decided to fully commit myself to a diet that’s healthy for me and the environment, so I will take Pollan’s message one step further. Six steps, actually.

I’m still figuring this out, though. If you come over to my apartment for dinner (another resolution of mine: host more dinner parties!), you might find sustainably-raised meat on the menu, just not on my plate. Or, it could be a 5-course tofu tasting. I don’t know. This is one of those one-day-at-a-time things.

So we’re already a few days into 2009, and I’ve been good. REALLY good, except for the lard biscuit a friend served me. He didn’t know there was lard in it, but my suspicions were roused when I took the first bite and
thought I was eating a hamburger. Meat flavor is really pronounced if you stop eating it for even a few days! I haven’t been too adventurous, though, and I’m getting sick of falafel and cheese pizza already, so I’m heading into the kitchen to see what my two hands can produce. I’ll share with you my experiences and any fun recipes I discover or come up with in my micro-sized kitchen in Brooklyn. Stick with me — I’m going to need the moral support!