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Food is material, usually of animal or plant origin, consumed by living things to provide energy and nutrition. Liquids used for this purpose are often called drink, but the term food applies to them as well. In English, the term is sometimes used metaphorically, as in food for thought.
Whether you're an evolutionist or creationist there's a history to human eating which goes through changes up to the present day (and presumably will continue to do so into the future).
Some say people began with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden as described in the Book of Genesis and, if so, then eating the wrong thing got us where we are today.
On the other hand, evolutionism suggests that we evolved from a creature very similar to Gorillas, Orangutans and Chimpanzees. If this is the case then maybe our diet should be like theirs. This would mean we'd be eating enormous amounts of plant source material with the odd catapiller or termite thrown in. There wouldn't be much meat (Gorillas and Orangutans eat only plant source food and Chimps eat plants plus some very occasional meat).
If Creationists are right God said we could eat every green plant but not the fruit of the tree in centre of the garden. This was the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge. Later on in the Bible, after Adam and Eve have been thrown out of the garden, Cain planted crops and Abel herded animals.
Humans are omnivores, and highly adaptable ones at that. It's probable that our species began in the African rain forests eating a plant type of diet and then migrated across the continents searching for food sources as the Ice Age made it increasingly difficult to find something to eat. We changed from gatherers to hunter gatherers and then, as conditions began to improve, we invented agriculture. After the experience of the Ice Age it is probable that humans wanted to create some feeling of security by controlling what plants were growing and which animals were available, so it would've made sense to keep areas of land where a particular crop was grown or animals grazed.
Over the thousands of years since then traditions in food and its acquisition have come and gone and been the source of controversies, of wars, and of celebrations.
Here are some of the basic foods consumed by humans. Food for humans is mostly produced through farming or gardening, and includes animal and vegetable sources. Many people forgo food from animal sources to varying degrees; see vegetarianism and veganism.
History of Human Eating Habits
Basic foods:
Types of food:
Meals:
Food production or acquisition:
Food handling and preparation:
Nutrients in food
Eating and cooking utensils
Special substances and objects that are (sometimes) consumed
See also:
See: Geography and foods,Food for animals
Animals may be served their food in a manger. See also Nativity.Metals as food
Other links
External links
nds:Eeten
simple:Food
