An undertaking without parallel or precedent, this monumental two-volume work encapsulates much of what is known of the history of food and nutrition throughout the span of human life on earth. It constitutes a vast and essential chapter in the history of human health and culture. Ranging from the eating habits of our prehistoric ancestors to food-related policy issues we face today, this work covers the full spectrum of foods that have been hunted, gathered, cultivated, and domesticated; their nutritional makeup and uses; and their impact on cultures and demography. It offers a geographical perspective on the history and culture of food and drink and takes up subjects from food fads, prejudices, and taboos to questions of food toxins, additives, labeling, and entitlements. It culminates in a dictionary that identifies and sketches out brief histories of plant foods mentioned in the text--over 1,000 in all--and additionally supplies thousands of common names and synonyms for those foods. The essays in this volume are the work of 220 experts in fifteen countries, in fields from agronomy to zoology. Every chapter is accompanied by bibliographical references. The volumes are organized in the following sections: 1. A determination of what our Paleolithic ancestors ate during their stay on the planet (over 99 percent of the time humankind has lived on earth). 6 chapters 2. An extensive treatment of the domestication and development of each of humankind's staple foods. 60 chapters 3. The history of our dietary liquids from beer through soft drinks to water. 13 chapters 4. Studies on the discovery of vitamins, minerals, proteins, fats, and the essential fatty acids along with a look at what they do for us. 37 chapters 5. A history of food and drink for all of the countries in the world. In addition there is a chapter on culinary history. 23 chapters 6. Historical issues involving human health, such as nutrition and mortality decline, height and nutrition, infection and nutrition. 18 chapters 7. Contemporary food-related policy issues are treated in this penultimate section of the work. Examples include chapters on food labeling, food biotechnology and the RDAs. 13 chapters 8. The last section of the work is a food-plant dictionary with over 1,000 entries that emphasize history and usage. The dictionary also includes over 4,000 synonyms for the names of plant food. Here readers well-informed about potatoes or asparagus can learn about lesser-known or strictly regional foods such as ackee or zamia and--among the thousands of synonyms provided--can discover that an aubergine is an eggplant, that "swedes" are rutabagas, and that "bulgar" comes from bulghur, which means "bruised grain."
The title of this book implies that it is a history of food, yet its 163 ``essays'' (as the editors term the chapters) cover much more. Virtually every chapter mentions contemporary issues, and in several instances the focus is almost entirely on current understanding. There is broad coverage of the cultural aspects of food, including a continent-by-continent review of specific uses of foods and beverages. A number of chapters deal with nutrition and health, whereas others discuss food-related government policies. There is ample coverage of the effects of various foods on physiology and health. Given this broad scope, it is not surprising that it took 10 years to complete the book or that the length (2153 pages) requires two volumes.
The presentation is organized into seven parts: the diets of our ancestors, staple foods, dietary liquids, nutrients, food and drink around the world, the history of nutrition, and contemporary food-related policy issues. Within this structure are chapters by leaders in the fields of history, nutrition, food, or health. As one might expect, there is some overlap among the chapters, but the editors note that this was not only inevitable but also actually encouraged, so that each chapter could stand alone. The final part of the second volume is a 175-page dictionary of plant foods, covering over 1000 foods from around the world -- for many readers, this alone will be worth the price of the book. The 236-page subject index refers not only to the many topics covered in the chapters but also to each food item by both its common and its scientific name.
The range of the chapters devoted to specific foods is very broad. Staples such as maize and wheat as well as less common foods are described in detail; for example, there are 24 chapters on animal food sources, ranging (alphabetically for convenience) from American bison to yak. Should readers wish to know more about camels, dogs, or insects used as food, there is a chapter on each. The wealth of information can be seen in the chapter on fungi. It begins with a historical background on the use of edible fungi (including mushrooms and yeast in fermented drinks and as a leavening agent in bread) in several countries and regions of the world, dating back to the Neolithic period. The next section describes fungi eaten now and in the past by humans and is followed by tables that give the chemical composition and nutrient content of several species of fungi. The chapter concludes with a list of foods and beverages that require fungal processing and information on fungal metabolites.
The book also provides a comprehensive exploration of nutrients. The 37 chapters on the theme of nutrition cover individual nutrients and diseases associated with their deficiencies. Food allergies, obesity, and associations between diet and chronic disease are discussed. These fascinating chapters look at the history and evolution of nutritional science and at how advances in this field have led to appropriate dietary recommendations. Later in the book, a section on history, nutrition, and health examines associations between nutrition and mortality, infection, height, and mental development. Although many of these topics are controversial, the presentations are generally balanced. The particularly difficult topic of vegetarianism is covered in two chapters, by authors with differing views of the history and benefit of eliminating animal foods from the diet. A chapter of particular relevance for health professionals considers the history of the medicinal uses of food and discusses garlic as an example of a food that has been assigned a therapeutic value.
Given the scope of the book, virtually anyone with an interest in food will find it useful, and those with a professional interest in food and nutrition will find it indispensable. It is a superb reference -- especially for the identification of foods from unfamiliar cultures or countries. Furthermore, unlike many reference books, it is a pleasure to read even when one is not seeking a specific fact or topic. Although each author brings his or her own perspective to a chapter, the coverage is uniformly scholarly. In addition, there is refreshingly little use of jargon. As a result, even a reader without a background in physiology or nutrition will find these volumes interesting and informative; they would be a fine addition to almost any reference library. The Cambridge World History of Food is truly a book to savor, as one centered around the subject of food should be.
Suzanne P. Murphy, Ph.D., R.D.
Copyright © 2001 Massachusetts Medical Society. All rights reserved. The New England Journal of Medicine is a registered trademark of the MMS.
It seems inconceivable that the editors and 224 international experts who contributed to this tour de force would suggest that our Paleolithic ancestors ate healthier than humans did up to 100 years ago, but they bolster their claim with facts: because they were hunter-gatherers, our Paleolithic forebears did not stay in one place long enough to pollute the local water with waste, nor did they come to rely on one primary source of food (and thus limit their access to vitamins and proteins). In addition to looking at the relationship between what we eat today and what humans ate millions of years ago, Kiple and Ornelas explore every type of food and food supplement, the cultural history of food, opposing views of vegetarianism, and related contemporary policy issues such as the argument over food labeling. With information that is up-to-date, a format that is easy to use and a fresh, engaging approach to their subject, Kiple and Ornelas have prepared a magnificent resource. The only quibble a reader may have, which the editors readily acknowledge, is that despite its claim to be a global study, the primary focus of their work is on the U.S. and Europe, but that is because more information on the history of foods in these areas is available than anywhere else. Serious students of health and anthropology, as well as libraries, provide an obvious market for this two-volume treatise. (Nov.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Take chocolate, for example. Twenty-five entries detail the history of "the drink of the gods" from its use as an aphrodisiac to witchbroom disease on cacao plants. The two hefty volumes offer a cornucopia of scholarly information on lots more than our favorite food. Of particular interest is the exploration of the Paleolithic hunter-gatherer diet that opens the work. The editors then shift to domesticated plants and animals, turn next to beverages, and address vitamins, minerals and nutritional requirements, before setting out on a global tour of food and drink that includes the role food has played in the rise and fall of civilizations. They end with contemporary food-related policy issues.
Edited by historian Kenneth Kiple and his wife, Kriemhild Coneč Ornelas, with scholarly contributions from 224 experts from 15 countries, the volumes are not as sumptuous-looking inside as out, but they are nonetheless chock-full of fascinating, easy-to-find lore.
Editors of Scientific American
Kiple, who edited the well-reviewed
Cambridge World History of Human Disease (1993), has turned his attention to the subject of food. As culinary art struggles to become an academic discipline, Kiple and his co-editor (and wife) Ornelas are aiding in the quest with the help of more than 200 contributors. The majority of the writers are academic faculty with specialties in history, anthropology, medicine, and nutrition.The two volumes are arranged in eight parts covering the diet of early man, staple foods, dietary liquids, nutrients and food-related disorders, food and drink around the world, nutrition and health, current food-related issues, and concluding with a dictionary of plant foods. The parts are subdivided into 170 chapters. The majority of the chapters are at least five pages in length and provide extensive, current bibliographies. They may also include notes, tables, graphs, maps, diagrams, black-and-white photographs, or line drawings. Some of the chapters are very scholarly and technical. The discussion of the early history of food in the Caribbean, for example, includes a diagram of the "isotopic reconstruction of Lucayan consumption." Other chapters are quite readable and filled with interesting facts for the layperson. Part 5, "Food and Drink around the World," includes discussions of the Arctic and subarctic regions and diets and disease prevention in the Mediterranean, among other topics. The Russian chapter surveys the history of the region from early times but says nothing about the post-Soviet era. Part eight, the dictionary, has more than 1,000 entries of varying lengths:
cress is defined in four sentences, while
coffee takes a page (in addition to extensive coverage in Part three, "Dietary Liquid"). Most entries give the Latin name, and there are a number of
see and
see also references. The complete table of contents is included in each volume, but the indexes (subject, author, and Latin names) are found only in volume two.
Food: A Culinary History (Columbia, 1999) has a similar title but emphasizes European culture, and the essays are written with a chronological perspective. The A-Z arrangement of
The Oxford Companion to Food [RBB Ja 1 & 15 00] makes that title a more accessible ready-reference tool.
The Cambridge World History of Food is a thorough study of a topic that is eternally popular. It should become a standard source in reference collections of academic and large public libraries.
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