Reflections in Recovery or The Cultural Feast

Reflections in Recovery: The Attributes of Being Average

Author: Ed W Houston

Reflections in Recovery is a twenty-year autobiographical journey of enticement, enslavement, and finally escape from the bondage of alcohol and drugs.Reflections in Recovery describes the path this ex-addict (ten years clean), and currently practicing MSW (Master of Social Work), took to freedom. It may be a path your loved one can also travel. An ounce of prevention is cheaper than a pound of cure. This story may become their fork in the road, their key to unlock the chains of bondage that is addiction.

Look this: The Looming Tower or A Great Civil War

The Cultural Feast: An Introduction to Food and Society

Author: Carol A Bryant

Whether you're a student of cultural anthropology, a student of nutrition, or are simply interested in learning more about the diverse origins of the eating habits of people around the world, this is a book to savor. The Cultural Feast: An Introduction to Food and Society investigates the complex matrix of technological, social, and ideological factors that influence human food systems and the impact that diet has on our social, political, and economic structures. Further, the text explores global and domestic hunger, examines diseases of undernutrition and overnutrition, and looks at dietary behavior change and large-scale programs to change dietary practices.

Table of Contents:

	Preface	xiii
Part I	Evolutionary and Historical Roots of Human Dietary Practices	1
1	Setting the Table for a Cultural Feast	2
	Biocultural Framework for the Study of Diet and Nutrition	3
	Nutritional Status	4
	Biological Makeup	5
	Human Nutrient Needs	6
	Diet	9
	Cuisine	9
	The Environment	10
	Physical Environment	11
	Sociocultural Environment	12
	Economic and Political Environment	13
	Food Systems	14
	Next Steps	15
2	Diet and Human Evolution	17
	Exploring the Diets of Extinct Humans Through Paleontology	18
	Teeth	19
	Skulls and Jaws	21
	The Postcranial Skeleton	22
	What Is Adaptation?	24
	Using Chemistry to Infer the Diets of Extinct Hominids	27
	Our Place in Nature	29
	A Brief Who's Who of the Early Hominids	29
	What Did Early Hominids Eat?	33
	What Can We Say About the Diets of Fossil Homo?	35
	Summary	38
	Highlight: Lactose Intolerance	40
3	Food in Historical Perspective: Dietary Revolutions	48
	The Agricultural Revolution of the Neolithic Era	48
	Development of Agriculture in the Tehuacan Valley	49
	Nutritional Consequences of the Agricultural Revolution: A Comparison of Foragers and Agriculturalists	53
	Social and Political Consequences of the Agricultural Revolution	55
	The Search for Spices	56
	The Exchange of Food Between the Old and New Worlds	58
	The Industrial Revolution	60
	Agricultural Change in England, Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries	61
	Food and the Industrial Revolution	62
	The Emergence of National Cuisines	63
	Transportation, Refrigeration, and Canning	63
	Transportation	63
	Refrigeration	64
	Canning	65
	Unforeseen Drawbacks of Food Processing	65
	The Scientific Revolution	66
	Adulteration of Food	67
	Food Preservation	68
	The Discovery of Vitamins	68
	Complicating Factors Associated with Modern Food Technology	70
	Modern-Day Adaptations	71
	Summary	72
	Highlight: Vegetarian Diets: Then and Now	74
Part II	Food and Culture	83
4	Eating Is a Cultural Affair	84
	Some Definitions	86
	Culture as a Mechanism for Responding to the Environment	87
	Culture Is Learned	88
	Culture as a Guide for Behavior	89
	Culture Is Expressed Through Behavior and Artifacts	94
	Culture as a Functionally Integrated System	96
	Intracultural Variation	97
	Ethnocentrism and Cultural Relativity	100
	Implications for Health Care Professionals	102
	Summary	104
	Highlight: Body Image and Health	105
5	Food Technologies: How People Get Their Food in Nonindustrial Societies	119
	Foraging	121
	Demographic Issues of Foragers	123
	Social, Political, and Ideological Features of Foragers	125
	Diet and Health of Foragers	127
	Food Preferences of Foragers	129
	Nutrition and Health of Foragers	130
	Horticulture	132
	Social, Political, and Ideological Features of Horticulturalists	134
	Diet and Health of Horticulturalists	136
	Pastoralism	140
	Social, Political, and Ideological Features of Pastoralism	141
	Diet and Health of Pastoralists	142
	Intensive Agriculture	145
	Social, Political, and Ideological Features of Intensive Agriculture	146
	Contemporary Peasant Societies	148
	The Transition to Market Economies	150
	Where Do Cuisines Come From?	151
	Summary	152
	Highlight: Farming Strategies in the Andean Region of Ecuador	154
6	Food Technologies: How People Get Their Food in Industrialized Societies	157
	Features of Industrialized Agriculture	158
	Farm Size	163
	Contract Farming, or Vertical Integration	164
	Energy Used in Food Production	166
	Soil Erosion	168
	Water Pollution and Shortages	169
	Social Costs	169
	Alternative Strategies	170
	Diet and Health of Industrialized Agriculturalists	172
	Summary	178
	Highlight: Genetically Modified Foods: Friends or Foes?	179
7	Food and Social Organization	190
	Food as a Means of Solidifying Social Ties	191
	Kinship and Familial Alliances	191
	Building Relationships with Neighbors and Friends	198
	Food as a Means of Strengthening Economic and Political Alliances	199
	Trade	200
	Food as a Gift	200
	Political Alliances	201
	Food and Social Status	202
	Food and Gender	202
	Food and Socioeconomic Position	204
	Food as a Symbol of Prestige	205
	Summary	209
	Highlight: Food and the Life Cycle	210
8	Worldview, Religion, and Health Beliefs: The Ideological Basis of Food Practices	221
	Food in a Forest of Symbols	221
	The Meaning of Food	223
	Food as an Ethnic Marker	225
	Worldview	225
	Religion	228
	Ethnicity and Ethnic Identity	234
	Health Beliefs and Local Knowledge	236
	Perceptions of Symptoms and Disease	237
	Preventive and Curative Practices	237
	Health Care Providers: Shamans, Curers, and Others	241
	Alternative Health Belief Systems in a Plural Society	245
	Summary	247
	Highlight: Becoming Culturally Competent	249
Part III	Strategies for Addressing Nutrition Challenges	257
9	Hunger in Global Perspective	258
	Malthus vs. Boserup	259
	The Factors in the Food Sufficiency Equation	261
	Population	261
	The Effect of HIV/AIDS on World Population	264
	Food Production	266
	Consequences of the Agricultural Revolution	278
	Decrease Food Aid to Other Countries	279
	Trade Imbalances	280
	What Is Meant by Hunger and Malnutrition?	280
	Who Are the Hungry and Malnourished?	281
	Hunger and Undernourishment	281
	Types of Undernutrition	282
	Measuring PEM	284
	Overweight in Children	287
	What Are the Causes of Undernourishment and Malnutrition?	287
	Projections for the Future--Enough for All?	288
	Summary	289
	Highlight: Hidden Hunger: Micronutrient Malnutrition	291
10	Addressing Global Food Issues	296
	Hunger and Malnutrition: The Factors Influencing Adequate Nutrition	297
	Food Availability	300
	Agricultural Research and Extension	300
	The Role of Biotechnology	303
	Policy Options: Self-Sufficiency vs. Food Security	304
	Food Self-Sufficiency and National Food Security	304
	What Makes NSSS Important?	305
	Commercialization of Agriculture and Household Food Security of Small Farmers	306
	Income	307
	Protecting Food Crop Production	308
	Land Tenure	309
	Health	309
	Entitlements	310
	Alleviating Poverty and Redistributing Income	313
	Land Distribution and Agrarian Reform	313
	Agrarian Reform	314
	Credit, Marketing, and Price Systems	316
	Food Aid as Food Subsidy	320
	Nutritional Quality of Food, Education, and Household Distribution	323
	Health and Sanitation	325
	Summary	325
	Highlight: Women: A Pivotal Link in the Food Chain	327
11	Dietary Behavior Change: How People Change Eating Habits	338
	The Behavior Change Process	340
	Stages of Change	340
	Processes of Change	342
	Factors That Influence the Change Process	344
	Health Beliefs	344
	Attitudes	347
	Social Influences	350
	Skills and Self-Efficacy	351
	Intentions	353
	Goal Setting	354
	Other Factors That Influence Behavior Change	354
	Implications for Practice	355
	Summary	356
	Highlight: U.S. Federal Food Programs	358
12	Designing Large-Scale Programs to Change Dietary Practices	372
	Community-Based Health Promotion	372
	Community	373
	Distinguishing Features of Community Organization	374
	Stages in the Community Organizing Process	376
	Case Study	377
	Advantages of Community-Based Interventions	379
	Challenges Associated with Community-Based Interventions	380
	Social Marketing	380
	Distinguishing Features	381
	Steps in the Social Marketing Process	385
	Loving Support Makes Breastfeeding Work	385
	Putting It All Together to Improve Dietary Practices	392
	Summary	395
	Highlight: Moving from Theory to Practice: A Case Study Using a Multilevel Approach to Changing Dietary Behavior	397
	References	403
	Index	433