作者:
John Krebs 出版社: Oxford University Press 副标题: A Very Short Introduction 出版年: 2013-12-1 页数: 144 定价: USD 11.95 装帧: Paperback 丛书:Very Short Introductions ISBN: 9780199661084
Includes a brief history of human food and examines the four great transitions of food development
Considers the various biological senses involved in food
Looks at the reasons why people like some food and not others - including the genetic influences and role of learning and culture
Separates myth from the fact about food safety
Considers the reasons for the obesity epidemic and what can be done about it
Explores the future of food security in an ever-growing worldwide population
In this Very Short Introduction, Prof Lord John Krebs provides a brief history of human food, from our remote ancestors 3 million years ago to the present day. By looking at the four great transitions in human food - cooking, agriculture, processing, and preservation - he considers a variety of questions, including why people like some kinds of foods and not others; how your senses contribute to flavour; the role of genetics in our likes and dislikes; and the differences in learning and culture around the world.
In turn he considers aspects of diet, nutrition, and health, and the disparity between malnutrition in some places and overconsumption in others. Finally, he considers some of the big issues - the obesity crisis, sustainable agriculture, the role of new technologies such as genetic modification of crops, and ends by posing the question: how will it be possible to feed a population of 9 billion in 2050, without destroying our natural environment?
目录
· · · · · ·
Acknowledgements
Preface
1 The gourmet ape
2 I like it!
3 When food goes wrong
4 You are what you eat
· · · · · ·
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Acknowledgements
Preface
1 The gourmet ape
2 I like it!
3 When food goes wrong
4 You are what you eat
5 Feeding the nine billion
References
Further reading
Index
· · · · · · (收起)
原文摘录
· · · · · ·
Genetic variation in our ability to taste bitter substances is the best-studied variation in taste. This was discovered by accident in 1930 by Arthur L. Fox, who worked for the Dupont Chemical Company. He found that people varied in their response to a bitter chemical called phenyl thiocarbamate (PTC) when it was dabbed on the tongue. At a meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1931, he tested out the audience. He found that 28 per cent could not taste PTC, 65 per cent could, and the rest were not classifiable. Subsequent studies have divided the tasters into ‘supertasters’ who react with disgust when PTC is dabbed on their tongue, and ‘tasters’, who react with mild aversion. Tasters make up about half the population and supertasters 25 per cent, leaving the ... (查看原文)
In consumer surveys of worries about food safety, people frequently voice concerns about ‘chemicals in their food’. One international food outlet claims to ‘shun obscure chemicals’ in its food. This is a pretty staggering claim, since food is nothing but chemicals, some of them quite obscure.
Of course, the worries are about the chemicals that are added during production or processing of food, not the chemicals that are there ‘naturally’. This is because of a fallacious belief that ‘natural is good, artificial is bad’. However, many of the plants we eat regularly contain small amounts of natural poisons or toxins that could cause cancer. As we saw in Chapters 1 and 2, these are the plant’s natural defences against insects, fungi, and other enemies. The American toxicologist Bruce Ames in a... (查看原文)
Very Short Introductions(共700册)，
这套丛书还有
《Biodiversity Conservation: A Very Short Introduction》《Translation: A Very Short Introduction》《Biography》《The Virgin Mary》《Homer: A Very Short Introduction》
等
。
还没人写过短评呢