A fresh take on food

摘要

"What's in the fridge?" may not seem a weighty question. But food is one of our oldest and most advanced technologies. And, as two new books and a documentary film show, we all have a stake in what we eat.rnOver the centuries, armies and empires have stood and fallen on the strength of their provisions. In An Edible History of Humanity, Tom Standage, business editor of The Economist, does an admirable job of showing the "invisible fork" behind the fate of nations. Attributing "social transformation ... geopolitical competition ... military conflict and economic expansion" to the cultivation of a handful of grains and meats, he explains how farming allowed bands of humans to settle and grow into societies.