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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... India's Hindus spurn beef, Jews and Moslems abominate pork, and Americans barely avoid retching at the thought of dog stew, one can be sure that something beyond mere digestive physiology is shaping the definition of what's good to eat ...
... India, as we shall see, the ecological impracticality of meat production so far outweighs the nutritional benefits of carnivory that meat is avoided—bad to eat, and therefore bad to think. An important point to bear in mind is that ...
... India people delight in consuming as much milk, butter, cheese, and yogurt as they can afford, and ghee, or clarified butter, is the preferred cooking fat in traditional Indian cuisine. As for animal flesh, some members of the priestly ...
... India, the highest-income groups consume over seven times more animal protein that the lowest. Many different kinds of cultures, from hunter-gatherer bands to industrial states, exhibit similar preferences for animal food ...
... India to England they suffer an increase in the incidence of pernicious anemia. In England the use of pesticides and vigorous washing of fruits and vegetables wipes out their B12 supply. Vegans are also at risk for rickets, a bone ...
Contents
13 | |
19 | |
The Riddle of the Sacred Cow
| 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 |