One Man's Meat

By Mimi Sheraton

Locusts and termites are unlikely candidates for an American dinner menu, but they are high-protein foods that nourish many Africans who, argues Anthropologist Marvin Harris, make such choices by preference that developed from necessity. Seemingly bizarre culinary customs are revealed as plain common sense by the author in an insightful and intriguing new book, Good to Eat (Simon & Schuster; $17.95). Citing economic, ecological and health considerations as forerunners of religious, folkloric and even social eating customs, Harris writes, "When India's Hindus spurn beef, Jews and Moslems abominate pork, and Americans barely avoid retching at the thought of dog stew . . . something beyond mere digestive physiology is shaping the definition of what's good to eat."

For example, it is inefficient to produce pork in desert areas like the Middle East because pigs thrive best on the same scarce fruits and grains that nourish man, whereas cud-chewing animals (cattle, sheep, goats) develop on high-cellulose brush plants that are hard for man to digest. The meat from pigs was thus considered not only bad to eat but "bad to think," hence the prohibition of eating the flesh of pigs, which were said to be dirty. According to Harris, pigs become dirty only when left untended, and so they get a bum rap. A pig prefers the clean life when man will provide it.-- M.S.