An undertaking without parallel or precedent, this monumental two-volume work encapsulates much of what is known of food and nutrition throughout the span of human life on earth. It constitutes a vast and essential chapter in the history of human health and world culture.

Ranging from the eating habits of our prehistoric ancestors to policy issues we face today, The Cambridge World History of Food covers the full spectrum of foods that have been hunted, gathered, cultivated, and domesticated; their nutritional makeup and uses; and their impact on human populations. It offers geographical perspective on the history and culture of food and drink and takes up subjects from food fads, prejudices, and taboos to questions of food toxins, additives, labeling, and entitlements. The Cambridge World History of Food culminates in a dictionary that identifies and sketches out brief histories of plant food mentioned in the text - over 1,000 in all - and additionally supplies thousands of common names and synonyms for those foods.

The essays in these volumes are the work of 224 experts in 15 countries, in fields from agronomy to zoology. Every chapter is accompanied by bibliographical references.

Kenneth Kiple, distinguished University Professor of History at Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio, is also the editor of numerous books and articles. His research and teaching interests in Latin America and the history of medicine, disease, and nutrition are shared by his wife, Kriemhild Con Ornelas. With a doctorate in North American Culture, she has devoted the past decade to this consuming project. Their previous work, The Cambridge World History of Disease, has been hailed as ³the single most valuable reference work for any scholar of human health and medicine ...² (American Journal of Biology). Its successor, The Cambridge World History of Food, will undoubtedly similarly rank as an unparalleled masterpiece on food and human health.