Food and Evolution : Toward a Theory of Human Food Habits

Author note: Marvin Harris is a Graduate Research Professor of Anthropology at the University of Florida. Eric B. Ross has taught at Mount Holyoke and the University of Michigan.

IntroductionPart I: Theoretical Overview1. An Overview of Trends in Dietary Variation from Hunter-Gatherer to Modern Capitalist Societies - Eric B. Ross2. Foodways: Historical Overview and Theoretical Prolegomenon - Marvin HarrisPart II: Bioevolutionary Antecedents and Constraints3. Primate Diets and Gut Morphology: Implications for Hominid Evolution - Katharine Milton4. Omnivorous Primate Diets and Human Overconsumption of Meat - William J. Hamilton III5. Fava Bean Consumption: A Case for the Co-Evolution of Genes and Culture - Solomon H. KatzPart III: Nutritional and Biopsychological Constraints6. Problems and Pitfalls in the Assessment of Human Nutritional Status - P.L. Pellett7. Psychobiological Perspectives on Food Preferences and Avoidances - Paul Rozin8. The Preference for Animal Protein and Fat: A Cross-Cultural Survey - H. Leon Abrams, Jr.9. Biocultural Consequences of Animals Versus Plants as Sources of Fats, Proteins, and Other Nutrients - Leslie Sue LiebermanPart IV: Pre-State Foodways: Past and Present10. The Significance of Long-Term Changes in Human Diet and Food Economy - Mark N. Cohen11. Life in the "Garden of Eden": Causes and Consequences of the Adoption of Marine Diets by Human Societies - David R. Yesner12. The Analysis of Hunter-Gatherer Diets: Stalking an Optimal Foraging Model - Bruce Winterhalder13. How Much Food Do Foragers Need? - Kristen Hawkes14. Aboriginal Subsistence in a Tropical Rain Forest Environment: Food Procurement, Cannibalism, and Population Regulation in Northeastern Australia - David R. Harris15. Ecological and Structural Influences on the Proportions of Wild Foods in the Diets of Two Machiguenga Communities - Allen Johnson and Michael Baksh16. Limiting Factors in Amazonian Ecology - Kenneth R. GoodPart V: The Political Economy and the Political Ecology of Contemporary Foodways17. Loaves and Fishes in Bangladesh - Shirley Lindenbaum18. Animal Protein Consumption and the Sacred Cow Complex in India - K.N. Nair19. The Effects of Colonialism and Neocolonialism on the Gastronomic Patterns of the Third World - Richard W. Franke20. Stability and Change in Highland Andean Dietary Patterns - Benjamin S. Orlove21. Social Class and Diet in Contemporary Mexico - Gretel H. Pelto22. From Costa Rican Pasture to North American Hamburger - Marc EdelmanPart VI: Discussion and Conclusions23. The Evolution of Human Subsistence - Anna Roosevelt24. Biocultural Aspects of Food Choice - George ArmelagosAfterwordAbout the Contributors