Food is any substance, usually comprised primarily of carbohydrates, fats, and/or proteins, that can be consumed by animals (including humans) for nutrition or pleasure. Almost all foods are of plant or animal origin. Many cultures have a recognizable cuisine, a specific set of cooking traditions, preferences, and practices.
The study of food is called food science. In English, the term food is often used metaphorically or figuratively, as in food for thought.
Human eating habits
Historical development
Humans are omnivorous animals that can consume both plant and animal products. Evidence suggests that early humans employed hunter-gatherer techniques as their primary method of food collection. This involves combining stationary plant and fungal food sources (such as fruits, grains, roots, and mushrooms) with mobile animals which must be hunted and killed in order to be consumed. Additionally, it is believed that humans have used fire to prepare food prior to eating since their divergence from Homo erectus, possibly even earlier.
More on [ Food ]
404Eating the World: Food Without Frontiers - Article by Roger Scruton examining the relation of modernity to the culture of food.
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Gastronomica - A quarterly journal for the scholarly study of food and food issues.
404Philosophy and Food - Consideration of the historic distance between philosophy and gastronomy, and of possibilities for bridging this gap. By Raymond D. Boisvert.
Philosophy and Food - A short introduction to the topic by Jeremy Iggers. Published in 2001 in Philosophy Now.
Slow Food - Organization promoting a slow, savoring approach to dining. News articles, current projects.
Meta Description: [ Slow Food is a non-profit, eco-gastronomic member-supported organization that was founded in 1989 to counteract fast food and fast life, the disappearance of local food traditions and people’s dwindling interest in the food they eat, where it comes from, how it tastes and how our food choic... ]
The Physiology of Taste - An etext of this classic eclectic work of culinary commentary, as rendered into English by Fayette Robinson. Available in HTML sections or as a ZIP file.