How Food Made History

by Higman, B. W.

• ISBN13: 9781405189484
• ISBN10: 1405189487
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2011-10-17
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

Summary

Covering 5,000 years of global history, How Food Made History traces the changing patterns of food production and consumption that have molded economic and social life and contributed fundamentally to the development of government and complex societies. Charts the changing technologies that have increased crop yields, enabled the industrial processing and preservation of food, and made transportation possible over great distances Considers social attitudes towards food, religious prohibitions, health and nutrition, and the politics of distribution Offers a fresh understanding of world history through the discussion of food

Author Biography

B. W. Higman is Emeritus Professor of the Australian National University and Emeritus Professor of the University of the West Indies. He has published several books on the history of slavery and the social and economic history of the Caribbean. He has taught courses on world food history, and is the author of Jamaican Food: History, Biology, Culture (2008).

Table of Contents

Illustrations	p. viii
Preface	p. ix
Prologue: Questions of choice?	p. 1
References	p. 5
The Creation of Food Worlds	p. 7
Making the ancient world food map	p. 8
The origins of domestication, agriculture, and urbanization	p. 11
Food worlds at 5000 BP	p. 15
Seven claims	p. 29
References	p. 31
Genetics and Geography	p. 35
Genetic modification, ancient and modern	p. 36
Prohibitions and taboos	p. 43
Geographical redistribution	p. 47
Three claims	p. 53
References	p. 53
Forest, Farm, Factory	p. 57
Forest gardens	p. 58
Crop farming landscapes	p. 62
Industrialized agriculture	p. 70
Five claims	p. 77
References	p. 78
Hunting, Herding, Fishing	p. 81
Hunting	p. 83
Herding	p. 91
Fishing	p. 94
Two claims	p. 100
References	p. 100
Preservation and Processing	p. 103
Ancient preservation	p. 103
Ancient processing	p. 106
Modern milling	p. 108
Packaging	p. 111
Freezing and chilling	p. 112
Milk, butter, yoghurt, and cheese	p. 115
Three claims	p. 123
References	p. 123
Trade	p. 125
Ancient trades	p. 126
Modern trades	p. 131
The global supermarket	p. 136
Two claims	p. 140
References	p. 141
Cooking, Class, and Consumption	p. 143
Cooks	p. 143
Cooking	p. 146
Eating places	p. 149
Meals and mealtimes	p. 156
References	p. 158
National, Regional, and Global Cuisines	p. 161
Cuisine, high and low	p. 164
The origins of cuisines	p. 168
Megaregions and pan-ethnicity	p. 182
Global foods	p. 185
Three claims and counterclaims	p. 188
References	p. 188
Eating Well, Eating Badly	p. 191
Nutrition and diet	p. 191
Stature	p. 195
Obesity	p. 199
Dieting	p. 203
Denial	p. 204
Vegetarianism	p. 207
References	p. 211
Starving	p. 215
Famine	p. 217
Famine foods	p. 224
Survival strategies	p. 226
Food aid	p. 228
Impact	p. 232
Two claims	p. 234
References	p. 235
Conclusion: Cornucopia or Pandora's Box?	p. 237
References	p. 241
Suggested Further Reading	p. 243
Index	p. 251
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