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, best-selling author Marvin Harris leads readers on an informative detective adventure to solve the worlds major food puzzles. He explains the diversity of the worlds gastronomic customs, demonstrating that what appear at first glance to be irrational food tastes turn out really to have been shaped by practical, 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 its 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
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Riddles of Food and Culture Marvin Harris. To Remember HERBERT ARTHUR HARRIS 1923-1982 ONE TWO THREE FOUR FIVE SIX SEVEN EIGHT NINE TEN.
Riddles of Food and Culture Marvin Harris. ONE TWO THREE FOUR FIVE SIX SEVEN EIGHT NINE TEN ELEVEN CONTENTS Good to Think or Good to Eat? Meat Hunger The Riddle of the Sacred Cow The Abominable Pig Hippophagy Holy Beef, U.S.A. ...
... five grams per day per person—only four grams more than Poland's—and calorie consumption was almost exactly even. I admit that per capita averages cover up some painful details. In Poland, the supply of meat and other animal foods is ...
... five grams of animal protein per capita per day, and show few signs of protein deficiency disease. But when the population of a village gets bigger, its hunters deplete the nearby game. There are more meatless days, complaints about ...
... five times higher than normal—provided they can get enough protein in their diet. Women who are pregnant or lactating also can benefically consume far more than the ordinary recommended level for adults. (Why they often seem to get less ...
Contents
13 | |
19 | |
47 | |
The Abominable Pig
| 67 |
Hippophagy
| 88 |
Holy Beef USA
| 109 |
Lactophiles and Lactophobes Milk Lovers and Milk Haters
| 130 |
Small Things
| 154 |
Dogs Cats Dingoes and Other Pets
| 175 |
People Eating
| 199 |
Better to Eat
| 235 |
References | 249 |
Bibliography | 258 |
Index | 275 |