SALMON: A RED HERRING traces the construction of salmon: the color of a wild fish, which is neither wild, nor fish (nor even salmon). In this highly original work, Cooking Sections show that disregarding color as a mere feature of matter risks taking life on Earth for granted. Color is a vector that composes forms, entwines species, and signals environmental changes. This book accounts for how we ended up in a deceptive world where sparrows molt pink, dogs turn blue, and honey glows maraschino red; where pharaohs tint paint, laptops flavor fog, and farms feed color.