The omnivorous mind : our evolving relationship with food / John S. Allen.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Allen, John S. (John Scott), 1961-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Brain--Evolution.

Brain.

Cognition.

Diet--Psychological aspects.

Diet.

Food habits--Psychological aspects.

Food habits.

Food--Psychological aspects.

Food.

Human evolution.

Nutrition--Psychological aspects.

Nutrition.

Omnivores.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (319 p. ) ill.

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. : Harvard University Press, 2012.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

In this gustatory tour of human history, John S. Allen demonstrates that the everyday activity of eating offers deep insights into human beings' biological and cultural heritage. We humans eat a wide array of plants and animals, but unlike other omnivores we eat with our minds as much as our stomachs. This thoughtful relationship with food is part of what makes us a unique species, and makes culinary cultures diverse. Not even our closest primate relatives think about food in the way Homo sapiens does. We are superomnivores whose palates reflect the natural history of our species. Drawing on the work of food historians and chefs, anthropologists and neuroscientists, Allen starts out with the diets of our earliest ancestors, explores cooking's role in our evolving brain, and moves on to the preoccupations of contemporary foodies. The Omnivorous Mind delivers insights into food aversions and cravings, our compulsive need to label foods as good or bad, dietary deviation from "healthy" food pyramids, and cross-cultural attitudes toward eating (with the French, bien sûr, exemplifying the pursuit of gastronomic pleasure).To explain, for example, the worldwide popularity of crispy foods, Allen considers first the food habits of our insect-eating relatives. He also suggests that the sound of crunch may stave off dietary boredom by adding variety to sensory experience. Or perhaps fried foods, which we think of as bad for us, interject a frisson of illicit pleasure. When it comes to eating, Allen shows, there's no one way to account for taste.

Contents:

Frontmatter

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

1. CRISPY

2. THE TWO-LEGGED, LARGE-BRAINED, SMALL-FACED, SUPEROMNIVOROUS APE

3. FOOD AND THE SENSUOUS BRAIN

4. EATING MORE, EATING LESS

5. MEMORIES OF FOOD AND EATING

6. CATEGORIES: GOOD FOOD, BAD FOOD, YES FOOD, NO FOOD

7. FOOD AND THE CREATIVE JOURNEY

8. THEORY OF MIND, THEORY OF FOOD?

NOTES

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

INDEX

Notes:

Formerly CIP.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780674055728

0674055721

9780674069879

0674069870

OCLC:

794670879