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
... Europeans haunted by the specter of shelves bereft of ham and sausages? Are they malnourished? Is their diet deficient in calories or proteins? According to the latest recommendation of the Food and Agriculture/World Health Organization ...
... Europeans should be concerned about cutbacks in their meat rations. My argument is that animal foods and plant foods play fundamentally different biological roles in human foodways. Despite recent findings which link the overconsumption ...
... European repertory of pastries and cakes, whose consumption in former times was the exclusive privilege of royalty. While the absence of fiber does not substantially detract from the package of nutrients in animal food, the presence of ...
... Europe and southwestern Asia among whom ritual slaughter of animals and sumptuous feasting on meat went together. On ceremonial occasions, Vedic warriors and priests, like the Celts and Israelites, generously distributed meat to their ...
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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 |