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. |
From inside the book
Results 1-3 of 27
Page 58
... preventing ritual slaughter itself , but by counteracting the temptation to eat tem- porarily barren or emaciated ... prevent the development of large - scale domestic or international markets for Indian beef , it continues to protect ...
... preventing ritual slaughter itself , but by counteracting the temptation to eat tem- porarily barren or emaciated ... prevent the development of large - scale domestic or international markets for Indian beef , it continues to protect ...
Page 243
... prevent the disease from occurring as well as cure it during its early stages . Vitamin A is a readily available nutrient . Almost any diet that includes animal liver , animal fat , or whole milk is likely to supply enough vitamin A to ...
... prevent the disease from occurring as well as cure it during its early stages . Vitamin A is a readily available nutrient . Almost any diet that includes animal liver , animal fat , or whole milk is likely to supply enough vitamin A to ...
Page 245
... prevent both malnutrition and xerophthalmia . If one tries to re- verse this logic and argues that it is a failure to eat more green , leafy vegetables that causes the blindness , one gets into a sick joke . Xerophthalmia is associated ...
... prevent both malnutrition and xerophthalmia . If one tries to re- verse this logic and argues that it is a failure to eat more green , leafy vegetables that causes the blindness , one gets into a sick joke . Xerophthalmia is associated ...
Contents
ONE Good to Think or Good to Eat? | 13 |
TWO Meat Hunger | 19 |
THREE The Riddle of the Sacred Cow | 47 |
Copyright | |
11 other sections not shown
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
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