By Mark R. Vogel
In the James Bond movie “Octopussy”, Roger Moore, a.k.a., 007, is captured by the villain, an Afghan prince named Kamal Kahn. Seated at the dinner table with his evil host, James Bond is revolted by the stuffed sheep’s head glaring at him from his plate. In gastronomic horror he watches Kahn twist out one of the creature’s eyeballs and gloriously pop it into his eager mouth. Bond refuses to partake claiming he “loses his appetite when he’s stared at.”
The foods that people choose to eat or not to eat is an interesting subject of study. If humans developed in a vacuum, free of all external influences, we would probably consume what naturally appealed to us. There are underlying biological reasons, (biochemistry, genetics, taste bud anatomy, etc.), that create individual differences in taste preferences. If we were without our feelings we might choose our victuals much like Spock, the emotionless Vulcan of Star Trek: based purely on nutritive value. But we have not grown up in a vacuum nor are we passionless automatons.
(more…)
