| FOOD TABOOS |
 All individuals must eat to survive -but what people eat, when they eat, and the manner in which they eat are all patterned by culture. No society views everything in its environment that is edible and might provide nourishment as food: Certain edibles are ignored, others are tabooed. These food taboos may be so strong that just the thought of eating forbidden foods can cause an individual to feel ill. A Hindu vegetarian would feel this way about eating any kind of meat, an American about eating dogs, and a Moslem about eating pork. The taboo on eating human flesh is probably the most universal of all food taboos. Although some societies in the past practiced ritual cannibalism, members of most modern societies have resorted to cannibalism only under the most desperate of circumstances. The cases of cannibalism by the Donner Pass party (trapped in the Sierra Nevada mountains in the winter of 1846) and recently by a South American soccer team (whose plane crashed in the Andes) caused a great furor. Human flesh may be a source of protein, but it is not one that most humans are willing to use. Gregg, J.Y. (1989). Communication and Culture. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Company. |