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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... foodways so diverse? Can anthropologists explain why specific food preferences and avoidances are found in one culture and not in another? I think we can. Perhaps not in every instance, nor down to the most finicky details. But there ...
... foodways are arbitrary gains strength from a number of bathing preferences and avoidances which almost everyone believes to be impractical, irrational, useless, or harmful. My strategy in this book is to attack these citadels—to take on ...
... foodways. Despite recent findings which link the overconsumption of animal fats and cholesterol to degenerative diseases in affluent societies, animal foods are more critical for sound nutrition than plant foods. I don't mean to say ...
... foodways in this regard simply do not conform to popular stereotypes. In 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 ...
... foodways of more complex societies. It is no accident that chiefs and heroes the world over celebrate their victories by hosting feasts and bestowing large portions of meat on followers and guests. Nor is it an accident that priestly ...
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 |