Table of Contents

Volume 1: List of tables, figures and maps; Preface; Acknowledgments; Introduction; Part I. Determining What our Ancestors Ate: 1. Dietary reconstruction and nutritional assessment of past peoples: the bioanthropological record; 2. Paleopathological evidence of malnutrition; 3. Dietary reconstruction as seen in coprolites; 4. Animals used for food in the past: as seen by their remains excavated from archaeological sites; 5. Chemical approaches to dietary representation; 6. History, diet and hunter-gatherers; Part II. Staple Foods: Domesticated Plants and Animals: 7. Amaranth; 8. Barley; 9. Buckwheat; 10. Maize; 11. Millets; 12. Oat; 13. Rice; 14. Rye; 15. Sorghum; 16. Wheat; 17. Bananas and plantains; 18. Manioc; 19. Potatoes (white); 20. Sago; 21. Sweet potatoes and yams; 22. Taro; 23. Algae; 24. The allium species (onions, garlic, leeks, chives and shallots); 25. Beans, peas and lentils; 26. Chilli peppers; 27. Cruciferous and green leafy vegetables; 28. Cucumbers, melons and watermelons; 29. Fungi; 30. Squash; 31. Tomatoes; 32. Chestnuts; 33. Peanuts; 34. An overview of oils and fats, with a special emphasis on olive oil; 35. Coconut; 36. Palm oil; 37. Sesame; 38. Soybean; 39. Sunflower; 40. Spices and flavorings; 41. Sugar; 42. American bison; 43. Aquatic animals; 44. Camels; 45. Caribou and Reindeer; 46. Cattle; 47. Chickens; 48. Chicken egg; 49. Dogs; 50. Ducks; 51. Game; 52. Geese; 53. Goats; 54. Hogs (pigs); 55. Horses; 56. Insects; 57. Llamas and Alpacas; 58. Muscovy ducks; 59. Pigeons; 60. Rabbits; 61. Sea turtles and their eggs; 62. Sheep; 63. Turkeys; 64. Water buffalo; 65. Yak; Part III. Dietary Liquids: 66. Beer and ale; 67. Breast milk and artificial infant feeding; 68. Cacao; 69. Coffee; 70. Distilled beverages; 71. Kava; 72. Khat; 73. Kola nut; 74. Milk and dairy products; 75. Soft drinks; 76. Tea; 77. Water; 78. Wine; Part IV. The Nutrients - Deficiencies and Surfeits: 79. Vitamin A; 80. Vitamin B complex: thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid, pyridoxine, cobalamin, folic acid aphne; 81. Vitamin; 82. Vitamin D; 83. Vitamin E; 84. Vitamin K and vitamin K-dependent proteins; 85. Calcium; 86. Iodine and iodine-deficiency disorders; 87. Iron; 88. Magnesium; 89. Phosphorus; 90. Potassium; 91. Sodium and hypertension; 92. Other trace elements; 93. Zinc; 94. Essential fatty acids; 95. Proteins; 96. Energy and protein metabolism; 97. Beriberi; 98. Iron deficiency and anemia of chronic disease; 99. Keshan disease; 100. Osteoporosis; 101. Pellagra; 102. Pica; 103. Protein-energy malnutrition; 104. Scurvy; 105. Anorexia nervosa; 106. Celiac disease; 107. Food allergies; 108. Food-borne infection; 109. Food sensitivities: allergies and intolerances; 110. Lactose intolerance; 111. Obesity; 112. Diabetes; 113. Nutrition and cancer; 114. Nutrition and heart-related diseases; 115. The cardiovascular system, coronary artery disease and calcium: a hypothesis.

Promotional Information

A monumental two-volume work detailing the history of food and nutrition throughout human existence.

Reviews

'Top of the league … there is enough in the two volumes to keep the curious happy for Christmases to come.' Matthew Fort, The Guardian

'Unparalleled in its knowledge and content.' BBC Good Food Magazine

'Anyone looking for something in the 'oh, you shouldn't have!' category could do worse than give The Cambridge World History of Food'. The Sunday Telegraph

'If you have a very special gourmet in your life, this is the Christmas present for them … This book is so fascinating that you could spend a whole year dipping into it.' Healthy Eating

'A weighty tome packed with culinary wisdom, which is ideal for lazy browsing.' Waitrose Food Illustrated

'An essential addition to the library of any serious chef, culinary educator, or devotee of fine cuisine.' Cuizine

'… if you want to know a bit more about what you're actually cooking, this really is all about food, including its political and social history. Utterly fascinating and a most welcome gift for the sort of person who likes to delve that bit deeper into everyday things.' The Independent

'… Factual Feast …' Condé Nast Traveller

'In a word: Wow … The World History of Food is part fascinating reading, part essential reference tool. What's not in here doesn't exist.' USA Today

'[A] formidably wide-ranging work.' Economist

'It's hard not to feel a giggly kind of pleasure at the full extent of knowledge on display in the Cambridge World History of Food.' The New Yorker

'[A] tour de force. … With information that is up-to-date, a format that is easy to use and a fresh, engaging approach to their subject, Kiple and Ornelas have prepared a magnificent resource.' Publishers Weekly

'This treasure trove of knowledge about food is so interesting and useful that I have only one regret. I wish that it had been available earlier, to spare me (and you) the effort of tracking down hundreds of different sources now summarized here. Whether you are a cook, gourmet, or glutton, an archaeologist, physiologist, or historian, you will be browsing these two volumes for years to come.' Jared Diamond, author of Guns, Germs, and Steel

'An outstanding new reference source … The Cambridge World History of Food is a remarkable work of scholarship and is highly recommended.' Library Journal (starred)

'A magisterial achievement. Food has long been central to humankind's relationship to the earth, and anyone interested in that relationship will find here an endless source of knowledge and insight. The book's perspective is sweeping, its ecological and cultural significance is profound.' Donald Worster, University of Kansas

It seems inconceivable that the editors and 224 international experts who contributed to this tour de force would suggest that our Paleolithic ancestors ate healthier than humans did up to 100 years ago, but they bolster their claim with facts: because they were hunter-gatherers, our Paleolithic forebears did not stay in one place long enough to pollute the local water with waste, nor did they come to rely on one primary source of food (and thus limit their access to vitamins and proteins). In addition to looking at the relationship between what we eat today and what humans ate millions of years ago, Kiple and Ornelas explore every type of food and food supplement, the cultural history of food, opposing views of vegetarianism, and related contemporary policy issues such as the argument over food labeling. With information that is up-to-date, a format that is easy to use and a fresh, engaging approach to their subject, Kiple and Ornelas have prepared a magnificent resource. The only quibble a reader may have, which the editors readily acknowledge, is that despite its claim to be a global study, the primary focus of their work is on the U.S. and Europe, but that is because more information on the history of foods in these areas is available than anywhere else. Serious students of health and anthropology, as well as libraries, provide an obvious market for this two-volume treatise. (Nov.) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.

'Top of the league ... there is enough in the two volumes to keep the curious happy for Christmases to come.' Matthew Fort, The Guardian
'Unparalleled in its knowledge and content.' BBC Good Food Magazine
'Anyone looking for something in the 'oh, you shouldn't have!' category could do worse than give The Cambridge World History of Food'. The Sunday Telegraph
'If you have a very special gourmet in your life, this is the Christmas present for them ... This book is so fascinating that you could spend a whole year dipping into it.' Healthy Eating
'A weighty tome packed with culinary wisdom, which is ideal for lazy browsing.' Waitrose Food Illustrated
'An essential addition to the library of any serious chef, culinary educator, or devotee of fine cuisine.' Cuizine
'... if you want to know a bit more about what you're actually cooking, this really is all about food, including its political and social history. Utterly fascinating and a most welcome gift for the sort of person who likes to delve that bit deeper into everyday things.' The Independent
'... Factual Feast ...' Conde Nast Traveller
'In a word: Wow ... The World History of Food is part fascinating reading, part essential reference tool. What's not in here doesn't exist.' USA Today
'[A] formidably wide-ranging work.' Economist
'It's hard not to feel a giggly kind of pleasure at the full extent of knowledge on display in the Cambridge World History of Food.' The New Yorker
'[A] tour de force. ... With information that is up-to-date, a format that is easy to use and a fresh, engaging approach to their subject, Kiple and Ornelas have prepared a magnificent resource.' Publishers Weekly
'This treasure trove of knowledge about food is so interesting and useful that I have only one regret. I wish that it had been available earlier, to spare me (and you) the effort of tracking down hundreds of different sources now summarized here. Whether you are a cook, gourmet, or glutton, an archaeologist, physiologist, or historian, you will be browsing these two volumes for years to come.' Jared Diamond, author of Guns, Germs, and Steel
'An outstanding new reference source ... The Cambridge World History of Food is a remarkable work of scholarship and is highly recommended.' Library Journal (starred)
'A magisterial achievement. Food has long been central to humankind's relationship to the earth, and anyone interested in that relationship will find here an endless source of knowledge and insight. The book's perspective is sweeping, its ecological and cultural significance is profound.' Donald Worster, University of Kansas