nce2.docx

nce2.docx

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nce2

Unit1Food

FoodandCulture

Weallhaveideasaboutwhatkindsoffoodsaregoodtoeat.Wealsohaveideasaboutwhatkindsoffoodsarebadtoeat.Asaresult,peoplefromonecultureoftenthinkthefoodsthatpeoplefromanothercultureeataredisgustingornauseating.WhenthefamousboxerMuhammadAlivisitedAfrica,forexample,onememberofhisgroupbecamequitesickwhenhesawsomeonepickupabutterflyandeatit.Manypeoplewouldfinditdisgustingtoeatrats,butthereareforty-twodifferentcultureswhosepeopleregardratsasappropriatefood.

SomepeopleinAfricathinkAfricantermitesmakeadeliciousmeal.Manyotherpeoplewouldprobablybesickiftheyhadtoeattermites,butonehundredgramsoftermitescontainmorethantwiceasmanycaloriesandalmosttwiceasmuchproteinasonehundredgramsofcookedhamburger.

However,foodlikesanddislikesdonotalwaysseemrelatedtonutrition.Forexample,broccoliisfirstonalistofthemostnutritiouscommonvegetables,butitistwenty-firstonalistofvegetablesthatAmericanslikemosttoeat.Tomatoesaresixteenthonthelistofmostnutritiousvegetables,buttheyarefirstonthelistofvegetablesthatAmericanslikemosttoeat.

Butdislikeisnottheonlyreasonwhysomecultureswillnoteatacertainfood.Insomecultures,certainfoodsaretaboo.TabooisawordfromthelanguageoftheFijiIslandsthatisusedtodescribesomethingthatisforbidden.Somefoodsaretabooincertainreligions,buttherearealsootherfoodtaboosthatarenotconnectedtoareligion.Wedonotusuallythinkaboutwhycertainthingsaretabooinourculture.Wemaynotevenknowwhytheyaretaboo.Anthropologiststrytodiscoverthehiddenreasonsfortaboos.Forexample,thesacredcowsofIndiaarewell-known.CowscangowherevertheywanttointhestreetsofIndia,andtheycaneatanythingtheywantfromthesuppliesofthefoodsellersonthestreet.Asaresult,thecowsareaproblem.However,nooneinIndiawillkillthemoreatthem.Itistabootodoso.Thiscustomseemsstrangetootherpeople,butanthropologistsbelievethattherearereasonsforit.First,cowsarevaluablebecausethefarmersneedthemtohelpplowtheirfields.Second,cowmanureisusedasafertilizeronthefields.InIndia,manyfarmerscannotaffordtospendmoneyonfertilizer.Third,thecowmanurecanbedriedandburnedtomakecookingfires.Therefore,farmersthatkilltheircowsformeatsoonfindthattheycannotploworfertilizetheirfieldsormakeacookingfire.

AnotherexampleisthatAmericansdonoteatdogs,althoughpeoplefromsomeotherculturesregardthemasgoodfood.IntheUnitedStates,dogsareveryimportanttopeopleaspets.Theyareusuallyregardedaspartofthefamily,almostlikeachildinsomecases.Inaddition,dogshavevalueasprotectionagainstcriminals.Thieveswillnotusuallyenterahousewherethereisadogbecausethedogwillbarkandpossiblyattackastrangerwhoistryingtogetintoahouse.Apparently,thedog'splaceinsocietyasacompanionandasaprotectionagainstcriminalsmakesthedogtabooasfood.

Thetabooagainsteatingporkoccursinmorethanoneculture.ThereissomeevidencethatsomeancientEgyptiansdidnoteatpork.TheancientIsraelitesalsoregardedporkastaboo.Oneexplanationforthepig-eatingtabooisthatporkthatisnotcookedsufficientlymayspreadadiseasecalledtrichinosis.However,mostpeoplenolongerthinkthatthisisagoodexplanationfortheporktaboo.AnotherexplanationisthattheIsraeliteswerenomads—theywerealwaysmovingfromplacetoplace.Peoplehavetostayinoneplacetoraisepigs.TheIsraelitesdidnotwanttostayinoneplacebecausetheydidnotwanttochangetheirculture.Asaresult,theydidnoteatpigs.

Anthropologistsbelievethatmostfoodlikesanddislikesarearesultofthewaysoflifeofdifferentpeople.Somepeopleliveinareaswheretherearebothlargeanimalsandmanyinsects.Itisdifficultforthesepeopletokilllargeanimals,anditrequiresalotofenergy.Itiseasierforthemtouseinsectsforfoodbecauseitisnotdifficulttocatchinsectsanditdoesnotrequirealotofenergy.Nomadicpeoplewhomovearoundwillnotwanttokeeppigsforfood.Peoplewillnoteatpetssuchasdogs.Americanseatalotofbeefbecausethereisplentyoflandforraisingcattleandtheirmeatcanbeshippedcheaplyforlongdistancesbyrailroads.

TheMenu

Foodhistorytellsusthatinearlyrestaurantstherecitationoftheavailablefooddishesbecameanincreasinglytime-consumingchore;therefore,writtenmenusweredevelopedtohelpguidedinersintheireatingchoices.Thislistofdisheswascommonlyhandwrittenonachalkboardorlistedonaboardthatcouldbeeasilyseenbythecustomers.Developmentsinprintingfinallyledtoachangeandthelargerre