9781422274873

CHAPTER 1

FOOD AND SOCIETY

THE MAGIC OF FOOD We need food to live. It provides energy and nutrition as we go about our daily lives, but food is much more than that. In fact, food is at the heart of many important life events. It helps people to connect and celebrate. For example, we eat lavish dinners at fancy restaurants to celebrate birthdays, weddings, religious festivals, anniversaries, andmany other life events. Families go to casual restaurants, or perhaps even nice ones, to celebrate good grades, birthdays, a big win in a junior-league baseball game, and for tons of other reasons. And tasty, celebratory meals are even cooked at home by your mom or dad, or perhaps a personal chef. What’s also amazing about food is that it is never boring because of the sheer variety of sources throughout the world. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations estimates that there are 250,000 to 300,000 species of edible plants around the world. That’s a lot of different ingredients for recipes!

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