I'm NOT Eating That..

One of the most interesting topics I found in Chapter 3 was food neophobia. Food neophobia is the tendency to avoid novel foods and prefer familiar foods. According to the slide show this is because of a human evolutionary trait that protects us from eating foods that could be harmful. Not knowing what the food is going to be like creates a bit of fear for everyone; from poison to allergic reactions there are several dangers for humans to take into consideration when trying new foods. When I was younger my parents always encouraged me to try all types of foods but sometimes I was reluctant to try foods that seemed strange to me. I see the same type of reaction from my younger relatives. Now that I am older I still try to taste new foods when the opportunity occurs but sometimes I am still wary. Until learning about Food neophobia I never thought of the common reaction to unfamiliar food as an evolutionary adaptation. It takes a little bravery and fighting fears to try exotic foods, the same foods that in other parts of the world are common cuisine. One of my favorite television shows is on the Travel Channel and is called “Bizarre Foods, with Andrew Zimmerman”. The host travels the world and eats the common cuisine of exotic countries. These foods are horrifying to me at times because he eats bugs and organs from all sorts of animals. However, he almost always finds an appreciation for the taste of the food. I can’t help but wonder if people from other parts of the world would feel the same way about any of the food we eat every day. Below is a youtube link to a clip from an episode of Bizarre Foods. This is just one example of how a novel food that Americans would not normally eat is perfectly normal in another country.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TuCOSt-709w&feature=fvsr