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Summary
Summary
We are not born knowing what to eat; as omnivores it is something we each have to figure out for ourselves. From childhood onward, we learn how big a "portion" is and how sweet is too sweet. We learn to enjoy green vegetables -- or not. But how does this education happen? What are the origins of taste?
In First Bite , award-winning food writer Bee Wilson draws on the latest research from food psychologists, neuroscientists, and nutritionists to reveal that our food habits are shaped by a whole host of factors: family and culture, memory and gender, hunger and love. Taking the reader on a journey across the globe, Wilson introduces us to people who can only eat foods of a certain color; prisoners of war whose deepest yearning is for Mom's apple pie; a nine year old anosmia sufferer who has no memory of the flavor of her mother's cooking; toddlers who will eat nothing but hotdogs and grilled cheese sandwiches; and researchers and doctors who have pioneered new and effective ways to persuade children to try new vegetables. Wilson examines why the Japanese eat so healthily, whereas the vast majority of teenage boys in Kuwait have a weight problem -- and what these facts can tell Americans about how to eat better.
The way we learn to eat holds the key to why food has gone so disastrously wrong for so many people. But Wilson also shows that both adults and children have immense potential for learning new, healthy eating habits. An exploration of the extraordinary and surprising origins of our tastes and eating habits, First Bite also shows us how we can change our palates to lead healthier, happier lives.
Author Notes
Bee Wilson is a celebrated food writer, food historian, and author of five books, including First Bite: How We Learn to Eat and Consider the Fork: A History of How We Cook and Eat . She has been named BBC Radio's food writer of the year and is a three-time Guild of Food Writers food journalist of the year. She writes a monthly column on food in the Wall Street Journal . She lives in Cambridge, England.
Reviews (3)
Publisher's Weekly Review
"Most of what we learn about food happens when we're children-when we're sitting at the kitchen table (if you're lucky enough to have one), being fed," says Wilson (Consider the Fork), a food writer and historian. Wilson takes a scholarly approach in this smart and telling journey that outlines food habits and where they originate. Mixing science with anecdotes, she incorporates past studies, including one landmark research study on infants' inherent patterns of taste, explicating the sometimes-conflicting theories scholars spun from the outcome, Wilson debunks the notion that appetite is genetic and the idea that the body naturally selects what it needs. Old reports are countered by the latest research from food psychologists, neuroscientists, and biologists. Using brief tales, Wilson details many disorders across the consumption spectrum in an insightful and earnest tone that appeals to food-lovers and parents. Discussing everything from adults with stringent eating patterns to gendered weight misperceptions and changes in cultural norms, Wilson delineates how diets develop and, more importantly, how to make healthy modifications. Agent: Zoë Pagnamenta, Zoë Pagnamenta Agency. (Dec.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Choice Review
In this unique study, Wilson looks at how eating disorders and behaviors such as fussiness, pickiness, and food phobias are learned and overcome. She uses scientific and social studies along with interviews and anecdotes to explain how feeding and eating habits created by family, school, and/or mental health issues cause some individuals to develop a complex approach to food early in life. The author discusses several approaches to changing food behaviors, among them introducing new foods and retraining children and adults to develop positive eating behaviors. Writing eloquently on how complicated eating has become, Wilson looks at--among other things--the role that memory and nostalgia play in one's eating life; how school and government programs address hunger; and how dietitians are changing the way they work with obese patients to increase weight loss. Though Wilson mentions extreme situations--for example, children whose eating behaviors result in hospitalization--the book will resonate with all who have problems with food, not just those with acute issues. In the final chapter, "Change," she offers a fascinating account of the healthfulness of the Japanese diet. Summing Up: Recommended. All readers. --Skye Hardesty, Georgia State University
Library Journal Review
Wilson (Consider the Fork) draws on research from food psychologists, neuroscientists, and nutritionists to reveal that food-related habits are shaped by multiple factors including family, culture, memory, gender, hunger, and love. Featured here are people who only eat foods of a certain color, toddlers whose preferences are limited to hot dogs and grilled cheese sandwiches, and researchers who have pioneered effective ways to introduce new foods into a child's diet. While there are many solid books about getting children and babies to eat, ranging from straightforward cookbooks to more detailed feeding manuals such as Jill Castle and Maryann Jacobsen's Fearless Feeding, most focus on the practical aspects; not on the reasons behind developing food habits. With chapters addressing particular foods such as milk and cake and discussions on topics including eating disorders, pickiness, and binging, this book provides in-depth discussion of what makes us indulge, enjoy, crave, dislike, and choose the tastes and provisions that we do. Verdict This work will appeal to food scientists, parents wishing to know the roots of their children's meal choices, and curious readers in general.-Dawn -Lowe-Wincentsen, Oregon Inst. of Technology, Portland © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Table of Contents
| Preface | p. ix |
| Introduction | p. xiii |
| 1 Likes and Dislikes With Beets | p. 1 |
| 2 Memory With Milk | p. 37 |
| 3 Children's Food With Birthday Cake | p. 65 |
| 4 Feeding With Lunchbox | p. 97 |
| 5 Brothers and Sisters With Chocolate | p. 127 |
| 6 Hunger With Breakfast Cereal | p. 155 |
| 7 Disorder With Potato Chips | p. 185 |
| 8 Change With Chili | p. 219 |
| Epilogue This Is Not Advice | p. 255 |
| Acknowledgments | p. 259 |
| Notes | p. 261 |
| Further Reading | p. 277 |
| Bibliography | p. 279 |
| Index | p. 305 |