"Food Is Culture explores the innovative premise that everything having to do with food - its capture, cultivation, preparation, and consumption - represents a cultural act. Even the "choices" made by primitive hunters and gatherers were determined by a culture of economics (availability) and medicine (digestibility and nutrition) that led to the development of specific social structures and traditions."--BOOK JACKET.

A fascinating, funny and downright bizarre history of food by one of Australia's best-loved comedians In this irreverent romp through history via the seven deadly sins, Mikey Robins uncovers the most bizarre food-related facts of all time. From the Ancient Egyptians to the Romans, and from the medieval monarchs to the first celebrity chefs, our ancestors have left their mark ... and show us that wherever there is food there is folly. In Gluttony, Mikey exposes our historic obsession with overconsumption and food waste, and Pride reveals some of the most arrogant dinner hosts in history and how the humble chef has now achieved rock god status. Lust shows us just about every aphrodisiac there has been and the most desired foods in history; and Sloth is about the shocking rise of fast food and the history of preservatives. We hear of the revolution that led to the birth of the modern restaurant; we learn about the accidental invention of the microwave; we see how the pineapple gained sacred status; we learn about the 'Sin Eaters', the world's most famous 'Gluttons' and the most deadly 'Poisoners' of all time.