Every region, every culture, had it's own idea of what 'food' is. What may be a delicacy in one part of the work is unthinkable to eat in another. Insects, eyeballs, various organs and such are all eaten in the world. It's all a matter of what is readily available in the area. Many Western cultures see such things as taboo to eat, simply because they are not as visually appealing as other dishes.
On a different note: Have you ever thought about how much of what you eat(regardless of culture) was ever considered to be food? Who was the first person to try eating something, and see if they lived? Or who first thought of how to prepare something for the first time, such as putting food in a vinegar/brine solution? Who first went "Huh, well I got this wine that went bad...some salt and other spices...wonder what will happen if I mix it all together and put this meat/vegetable in it and leave it there for a while..." I find such things interesting. It might be because I've devoted nearly a third of my life to food. Cooking it, eating it, learning about it.... Now I want to know what all of -you- think.
@ pixie, of course like vitamins, when taken too much vitamins are toxic (only fat soluble ones: A, E, K, and D).
Well my friends and I like to joke about who thought about drinking milk from a cow, and the conversation always heads in this direction. "How did mankind think about obtaining and drinking milk?" and then someone would reply, "O well I'm sure one person was like, I will drink whatever white liquid that comes from that animal" and then we'd laugh like immature idiots.
I'd also wonder how people decided to choose what/and where of that what to eat. Sometimes when I travel to exotic places, the natives their never cease to amaze me with their "different" tastes
Well I think alot of trial and error is involved. In Japan how long did it take for soeone to cook fugu right. Or who decided which mushrooms were poisonous. I bet there are many dead people who ate something "new". Then again I think that there was an element of observing animals (though that isn't 100% perfect of course)
All food that I have heard of is divided into two groups: plants and animals. We get nutrients from plants, but what about animals? We eat animals that eat plants, or sometimes even animals that eat animals that eat plants. So it all comes back to the plants.
food is food when u can eat it without vomiting or dying, thats my opinion
Isn't technically everything food? and just because I can't eat a worm without vomiting doesn't mean it isn't food maybe in another country it is considered a delicacy. But, back to what I was saying virtually anything is food including US! and even waste are we forgetting bacteria???
