In this collection of scholarly essays, some of which have been published previously, Mintz (Sweetness and Power) examines aspects of the intricate relationship between food and human culture. In several interesting articles, he discusses the symbolic power of food as shown by the case of Africans, who though forcibly transplanted to the Caribbean in colonial times, succeeded in creating a cuisine for themselves and their masters, even under the oppressive conditions of slavery. Mintz traces the complex rivalry between honey and sugar as the primary sweeteners and how the ascendancy of sugar was tied to economic development in Europe. In one controversial piece, Mintz argues that there is no such thing as an American cuisine. According to the author, although patterns of immigration peculiar to the U.S. have resulted in regional diets, a national cuisine that is cooked, eaten and talked about has not evolved (yet).

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Sidney Mintz, a professor of anthropology at Johns Hopkins University examines how foods such as sugar, alcohol, chocolate, and tea, once limited to the rich and powerful, became accessible to the general populace, and how companies such as Coca Cola gained international recognition--exporting their products to even the most remote regions of the world. In his final essay, "Eating American," Mintz discusses the nation's obsession with fitness and diet and our progressive weight gain. He also provides an apocalyptic view of the future--predicting a doubling of the nation's population by 2064, and a loss of more than 180 million acres of arable land through erosion and urbanization. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.