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.
Edible means fit to be eaten. You aren't really answering the question, :S
JsaKim has a point there, food basically qualifies everything that is edible and digestible to support us with nutrients that we need.
If that is what he meant, then nvm.
this is like asking if air is air
Why not ask this? What makes air something you would call air, if not a nasty gas? Would you tell someone you took a breath of fresh air in a room full of carbon monoxide? The answer in this case is much more obvious, but in terms of food and what we eat as humans, it can be more subtle. After all, would you be open to eating goat brain? I had some once, it wasn't all that great tasting but some of my family members like cousins and uncles devour the stuff.
Food is something that someone eats, somewhere in the world, without being killed by it.
I could eat dirt and possibly avoid infection. Please don't say that makes it food
Lastly, for me, Food is anything a person is willing to eat that at first glance, is void of disease, gives some nutritional or psychological benefit, is not only used for the purpose of curing, and is something they would, if given the opportunity or circumstance, eat again.
I could eat dirt and possibly avoid infection. Please don't say that makes it food
People do eat dirt (or clay). Not even because there's no other food around, but for other reasons like health benefits. Here's Wiki
Food is anything a person is willing to eat that at first glance, is void of disease, gives some nutritional or psychological benefit, is not only used for the purpose of curing, and is something they would, if given the opportunity or circumstance, eat again.
Some berries can look nice and taste good, but can be poisonous and kill you. People that don't have knowledge of what's dangerous don't realize the effects and will see the berries and readily eat them, making them very ill. If they don't connect the illness with the delicious berries, they'll eat them again.
People that don't have knowledge of what's dangerous don't realize the effects and will see the berries and readily eat them, making them very ill.
Exactly, so I said that something at first glance, that seems void of disease, can still be counted as food. Seeing as someone that sees a nice killer-berry will eat it, and then eat it again later, and again later, then get sick, then maybe even eat it again not realizing it was what made him sick -- etc. Still counts as food!
There was a tribe in Papa New Guinea that used to practice cannibalism on those who had passed, and all of them had a pretty bad tapeworm issue. I read about it once, wish I could find a link.
