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 28
Page 34
... result in an increased need for amino acids . Under stress , the body mobilizes all the amino acids it can draw on from muscles and other tissues and converts them into glucose for extra energy . But at the same time the body needs to ...
... result in an increased need for amino acids . Under stress , the body mobilizes all the amino acids it can draw on from muscles and other tissues and converts them into glucose for extra energy . But at the same time the body needs to ...
Page 38
... result of too much milling as well as for the zinc or iron lost as a result of too little milling . A population whose diet contains significant amounts of meat , fish , or poultry need not shrink from enjoying the products made ...
... result of too much milling as well as for the zinc or iron lost as a result of too little milling . A population whose diet contains significant amounts of meat , fish , or poultry need not shrink from enjoying the products made ...
Page 82
... result in flamboyant lists of interdicted species , the results are trivial if not beneficial from a nutritional and ecological viewpoint . Among birds , for example , Leviticus bans the flesh of the eagle , ossifrage , osprey , ostrich ...
... result in flamboyant lists of interdicted species , the results are trivial if not beneficial from a nutritional and ecological viewpoint . Among birds , for example , Leviticus bans the flesh of the eagle , ossifrage , osprey , ostrich ...
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