Good to Eat: Riddles of Food and CultureWhy are human food habits so diverse? Why do Americans recoil at the thought of dog meat? Jews and Moslems, pork? Hindus, beef? Why do Asians abhor milk? In Good to Eat, bestselling author Marvin Harris leads readers on an informative detective adventure to solve the world's major food puzzles. He explains the diversity of the world's gastronomic customs, demonstrating that what appear at first glance to be irrational food tastes turn out really to have been shaped by practical, or economic, or political necessity. In addition, his smart and spirited treatment sheds wisdom on such topics as why there has been an explosion in fast food, why history indicates that it's "bad" to eat people but "good" to kill them, and why children universally reject spinach. Good to Eat is more than an intellectual adventure in food for thought. It is a highly readable, scientifically accurate, and fascinating work that demystifies the causes of myriad human cultural differences. |
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Page 190
... pets have also rendered a number of other services , many of which still must be considered as tangible benefits to be weighed against the costs of modern- day pet keeping . The idea that pets are useless stems from the animal - keeping ...
... pets have also rendered a number of other services , many of which still must be considered as tangible benefits to be weighed against the costs of modern- day pet keeping . The idea that pets are useless stems from the animal - keeping ...
Page 196
... pets help us to overcome the anonymity and lack of social community engen- dered by big - city life . As proxy humans , they can " stir the dead air " of empty apartments , and give countless single people some- one to go home to . It ...
... pets help us to overcome the anonymity and lack of social community engen- dered by big - city life . As proxy humans , they can " stir the dead air " of empty apartments , and give countless single people some- one to go home to . It ...
Page 197
... pet , nursing home residents interact more with staff and other patients . Outpatients with various kinds of health problems report that pets help them to laugh , cope with loneliness , and become more active physically . Pets are also ...
... pet , nursing home residents interact more with staff and other patients . Outpatients with various kinds of health problems report that pets help them to laugh , cope with loneliness , and become more active physically . Pets are also ...
Contents
ONE Good to Think or Good to Eat? | 13 |
TWO Meat Hunger | 19 |
THREE The Riddle of the Sacred Cow | 47 |
Copyright | |
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American amount animal foods Aztecs became become beef better body calcium calories camel cannibalism carried cattle CHAPTER consume consumption contain continued cooked costs cultures dead developed diet dingoes disease dogs domesticated drinking eaten efficient enemy entirely Europe European example explanation fact farmers feed fish flesh four give goats grain groups hamburgers Hindu horsemeat horses human hunting important increase Indians insects killing kind lack lactose lactose intolerance land less levels live means meat milk natural never nutritional percent pets plant population pork pounds practice preference Press prevent prisoners problem protection protein raising reason relatives remains result rickets sheep skin slaughter societies species supply taboo things United University vegetables village vitamin warfare women York