What Does It Mean To Be Inedible Foods?

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Foods become part of a process of marking boundaries and differences between ethnic cultures, religions, gender and individuals. While some foods are desired and edible in some ethnic cultures, others may find the same food repulsive and inedible. This shows that food not only serves to provide nutritional values and satisfy biological needs, but it also marks social differences. Foods as boundary markers is not only limited to edible and inedible foods, but what time of the day it is consumed, how it is prepared, and its association with other foods (Manderson, 1986: p. 6). Foods have also been consumed depending on need, want and availability (Wilson, 2006: p. 15). For instance, some people have resulted in eating foods regarded and inedible …show more content…

The close a living entity is deemed closed to humanity the less it is going to be viewed as food. For instance, dogs, cats, and other pets participate in society in the capacity of subjects and most are given names, some are allowed to live inside the houses, for instance, cats and dogs, and people sometimes converse with them (Sahlins, 1978: p. 174). Due to the level of humanity associated with them, they are deemed inedible. However, it is interesting to see that while pets are kept by humans and not consumed as food, cattle are also kept but consumed. But when one compares both the cattle and pets, cattle is kept outside of the home and pets inside the home. Thus, the level of closeness and interaction with the animals determined if they are edible or …show more content…

For instance, while there may be comparisons in what type of foods are consumed, there is a difference in the way in which the foods are prepared and cooked, for instance, sea food and vegetables. This may explain why there are cuisines and why some staples are linked to specific cultures. The reason why foods are different in various cultures has some historical aspect to it as far as availability and cultural connotations are concerned (Davidson, 2014: p. 548). For instance, some people began to consume food because it was abundant in their environment and proved to be healthy and beneficial, while some foods were used for ritual purposes because the ancestors believed they were necessary for inducing the spirits (Davidson, 2014: p. 548). But while this is the case, what may be considered sweet, tasty and healthy in one culture, may deemed disgusting and unhealthy in another. For instance, the French cook escargot – meal prepared out of snails, while some people may find easting snails disgusting (Class notes, 2018). Yet, the French deem it is as not only tasty, but nutritious and snails are a great source of proteins. Additionally, some foods possess religious connotations, which is cultural. For instance, Muslims do not eat pork since they consider in unclean from a religious perspective, but most people in western cultures do through sausages and bacon (Davidson, 2014: p. 548).. Some animals are

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