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When we humans love foods, we love them a lot. In fact, we have often eaten them into extinction, whether it is the megafauna of the Paleolithic world or the passenger pigeon of the last century. In Lost Feast, food expert Lenore Newman sets out to look at the history of the foods we have loved to death and what that means for the culinary paths we choose for the future. Whether it's chasing down the luscious butter of local Icelandic cattle or looking at the impacts of modern industrialized agriculture on the range of food varieties we can put in our shopping carts, Newman's bright, intelligent gaze finds insight and humor at every turn.
Bracketing the chapters that look at the history of our relationship to specific foods, Lenore enlists her ecologist friend and fellow cook, Dan, in a series of "extinction dinners" designed to recreate meals of the past or to illustrate how we might be eating in the future. Part culinary romp, part environmental wake-up call, Lost Feast makes a critical contribution to our understanding of food security today. You will never look at what's on your plate in quite the same way again.
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
October 8, 2019 -
Formats
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OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9781618035707
- File size: 263109 KB
- Duration: 09:08:08
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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Tanya Eby's smooth narration whets the listener's appetite as she explains how species extinction translates to culinary extinction. Eby's delivery deftly conveys the blend of history, science, and casual commentary in this examination of how the extinction of various species has led to the disappearance of foods and culinary knowledge. In a resonant voice, Eby tells intriguing stories of once-plentiful flora and fauna, such as the woolly mammoth and passenger pigeon. As the author highlights how their disappearance--due to the encroachment of humans and their mechanization--has impacted the foods available for us to feast upon, the significance of each extinct species is also clearly made. Eby provides a thought-provoking listening experience for lovers of food, history, and the environment. M.F. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine
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