補充文檔：FoodandCulture全國獲獎

Unit4FoodandCulture補充文檔

閱讀素材FoodandCulture（2）

Weallhaveideasaboutwhatkindsoffoodsaregoodtoeat.Wealsohaveideasaboutwhatkindsoffoodsarebadtoeat.Asaresult,peoplefromonecultureoftenthinkthefoodsthatpeoplefromanothercultureeataredisgustingornauseating.WhenthefamousboxerMuhammadAlivisitedAfrica,forexample,onememberofhisgroupbecamequitesickwhenhesawsomeonepickupabutterflyandeatit.Manypeoplewouldfinditdisgustingtoeatrats.Butthereare42differentcultureswhosepeopleregardratsasappropriatefood.

SomepeopleinAfricathinkAfricantermitesmakeadeliciousmeal.Manyotherpeoplewouldprobablybesickiftheyhadtoeattermites,butonehundredgramsoftermitescontainmorethantwiceasmanycaloriesandalmosttwiceasmuchproteinasonehundredgramsofcookedhamburger.

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

Butdislikeisnottheonlyreasonwhysomecultureswillnoteatacertainfood.Insomecultures,certainfoodsaretaboo.TabooisawordfromthelanguageoftheFijiIslandsthatisusedtodescribesomethingthatisforbidden.Somefoodsaretabooincertainreligions,buttherearealsootherfoodtaboosthatarenotconnectedtoareligion.Wedonotusuallythinkaboutwhycertainthingsaretabooinourculture.Wemaynotevenknowwhytheyaretaboo.Anthropologiststrytodiscoverthehiddenreasonsfoodtaboos.Forexample,thesacredcowsofIndiaarewell-known.CowscangowherevertheywanttointhestreetsofIndia,andtheycaneatanythingtheywantfromsuppliesofthefoodsellersonthestreet.Asaresult,thecowsareaproblem.However,nooneinIndiawillkillthemoreatthem.Itistabootodoso.Thiscustomseemsstrangetootherpeople,butanthropologistsbelievethattherearereasonsforit.First,cowsarevaluablebecausethefarmersneedthemtohelpplowtheirfields.Second,cowmanureisusedasafertilizeronthefields.InIndia,manyfarmerscan’taffordtospendmoneyonfertilizer.Third,thecowmanurecanbedriedandburnedtomakecookingfires.Therefore,farmersthatkilltheircowsformeatsoonfindthattheycan’tploworfertilizetheirfieldsormakeacookingfire.

AnotherexampleisthatAmericansdonoteatdogs,althoughpeoplefromsomeotherculturesregardthemasgoodfood.Inthe,dogsareveryimportanttopeopleaspets.Theyareusuallyregardedaspartofthefamily,almostlikeachildinsomecases.Inaddition,dogshavevalueasprotectionagainstcriminals.Thieveswillnotusuallyenterahousewherethereisadogbecausethedogwillbarkandpossiblyattackastrangerwhoistryingtogetintoahouse.Apparently,thedog’splaceinsocietyasacompanionandasaprotectionagainstcriminalsmakesthedogtabooasfood.

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

Anthropologistsbelievethatmostfoodlikesanddislikesarearesultofthewaysoflifeofdifferentpeople.Somepeopleliveinareaswheretherearebothlargeanimalsandmanyinsects.Itisdifficultforthesepeopletokilllargeanimals,anditrequiresalotofenergy.Itiseasierforthemtouseinsectsforfoodbecauseitisnotdifficulttocatchinsectsanditdoesnotrequirealotofenergy.Nomadicpeoplewhomovearoun