Download E-books The Cambridge World History of Food (2-Volume Set) PDF

An project with out parallel or precedent, this huge two-volume paintings encapsulates a lot of what's recognized of the heritage of nutrients and food in the course of the span of human existence on the earth. It constitutes an enormous and crucial bankruptcy within the historical past of human future health and tradition. starting from the consuming behavior of our prehistoric ancestors to food-related coverage matters we are facing at the present time, this paintings covers the total spectrum of meals which were hunted, collected, cultivated, and domesticated; their dietary make-up and makes use of; and their effect on cultures and demography. It bargains a geographical standpoint at the historical past and tradition of food and drinks and takes up matters from foodstuff fads, prejudices, and taboos to questions of nutrients pollutants, ingredients, labeling, and entitlements. It culminates in a dictionary that identifies and sketches out short histories of plant meals pointed out within the text--over 1,000 in all--and also provides hundreds of thousands of universal names and synonyms for these meals. The essays during this quantity are the paintings of 220 specialists in fifteen international locations, in fields from agronomy to zoology. each bankruptcy is followed by way of bibliographical references. The volumes are geared up within the following sections: 1. A selection of what our Paleolithic ancestors ate in the course of their remain in the world (over ninety nine percentage of the time humankind has lived on earth). 6 chapters 2. an in depth remedy of the domestication and improvement of every of humankind's staple meals. 60 chapters three. The heritage of our nutritional drinks from beer via smooth beverages to water. thirteen chapters four. experiences at the discovery of supplements, minerals, proteins, fat, and the fundamental fatty acids in addition to a glance at what they do for us. 37 chapters five. A background of food and drinks for all the international locations on this planet. additionally there's a bankruptcy on culinary heritage. 23 chapters 6. ancient concerns related to human well-being, corresponding to meals and mortality decline, peak and meals, an infection and food. 18 chapters 7. modern food-related coverage concerns are handled during this penultimate part of the paintings. Examples contain chapters on meals labeling, nutrition biotechnology and the RDAs. thirteen chapters eight. The final component to the paintings is a food-plant dictionary with over 1,000 entries that emphasize historical past and utilization. The dictionary additionally comprises over 4,000 synonyms for the names of plant meals. right here readers well-informed approximately potatoes or asparagus can find out about lesser-known or strictly neighborhood meals equivalent to ackee or zamia and--among the millions of synonyms provided--can become aware of that an aubergine is an eggplant, that "swedes" are rutabagas, and that "bulgar" comes from bulghur, this means that "bruised grain."