Where does our food and drink come from? Which communities and which landscapes are these products connected to? Why do people eat spicy things in one place and fermented things in another? Why do people eat standing up here and sitting down there? When did people begin producing cereal crops? Why have fruit and vegetables crossed the Atlantic?
Do people eat pizza everywhere on Earth? Here in this atlas of 300 pages, with 200 maps and illustrations, is the incredible story of the food, cuisines and flavours of the world. From the domestication of maize around 4000 B.C. to the experimental farming of GM crops in the 21st century; from the introduction of the tomato to Spain following their conquests in South America, to the recent arrival of Japanese restaurants throughout Europe; from the first coffee plants in Ethiopia in the 13th century B.C. to the soft drinks made by multinational companies; and from Greek pitta bread to Indian samosas, the history of culinary practices is inescapably caught up with the history of cultures, of trade, of environments and of people. And even if the modes and codes of eating differ from place to place, the meal is something enjoyed together everywhere, because the experience of eating is not only a biological imperative, it is a profoundly cultural act.
This research project is being led by Gilles Fumey and Pierre Raffard within the Food 2.0 Lab.
Map of edible insects worldwide, featured in the Atlas © (Prepared by Pierre Raffard)
This Food Atlas (Atlas de l’alimentation) is currently in press and will be published in 2017.
