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. |
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Page 113
... corn . Before long , many farmers discovered that when pigs were fed on corn for a month or so before slaughter , their flesh firmed and they gained weight rapidly . By 1700 " finishing " hogs on corn had become an established ...
... corn . Before long , many farmers discovered that when pigs were fed on corn for a month or so before slaughter , their flesh firmed and they gained weight rapidly . By 1700 " finishing " hogs on corn had become an established ...
Page 114
... corn production moved with it . Soils and climate were ideal for corn . Farmers in the Ohio Valley could easily harvest more than they could sell , given the rudimentary nature of the roads and the great expense of transport by wagon ...
... corn production moved with it . Soils and climate were ideal for corn . Farmers in the Ohio Valley could easily harvest more than they could sell , given the rudimentary nature of the roads and the great expense of transport by wagon ...
Page 115
... corn sold along the trail ; the pigs followed behind , feeding on the cattle dung which contained much undigested corn residue . Which meat was preferred , beef or pork ? During late Colonial times and the early nineteenth century as ...
... corn sold along the trail ; the pigs followed behind , feeding on the cattle dung which contained much undigested corn residue . Which meat was preferred , beef or pork ? During late Colonial times and the early nineteenth century as ...
Contents
ONE Good to Think or Good to Eat? | 13 |
TWO Meat Hunger | 19 |
THREE The Riddle of the Sacred Cow | 47 |
Copyright | |
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Aborigines agricultural American amino acids animal flesh animal foods anthropologist aversion Aztecs beef body bones Brahmans breeds calcium calories camel cattle chicken Chinese cholesterol consume consumption cooked corn costs cud-chewers cultures dairy diet dietary dingoes disease dogflesh dogs domestic animals drinking eaten ecological efficient enemy Europe European fact farmers fast-food feed fish foodways forest goats grain grams hamburgers Hindu horseflesh horsemeat horses human flesh hunting Ibid Indians insectivory insects Islam Israelites killing lactase sufficiency lactase-deficient lactose lactose intolerance large numbers leafy vegetables less Leviticus line 14 line 32 live locusts meat hunger milk Moslems mutton nutritional optimal foraging theory osteomalacia oxen percent pets plant foods plows population pork pounds practice preference prisoners protein raising ritual ruminants sheep skin slaughter societies sources of animal species spurn Staden taboo Tamil Nadu trichinosis Tupinamba vitamin vitamin D warfare cannibalism women xerophthalmia York