Eat Not This Flesh: Food Avoidances in the Old World

by Frederick J. Simoons

This text explores taboos against eating certain kinds of flesh from a historical and cultural perspective. New research on the use and avoidance of flesh foods, from antiquity to the present day, is integrated in this edition.

Genres: Food

264 pages, Hardcover

First published January 22, 1981

Reviews

[J.M. Hushour · Rating 4 out of 5]

The weirdest food I ever ate was in Damascus: goat testicles with cheese on flatbread, which was delicious until I found out what it was. Why was that? Why, as my Syrian friends lolled about, laughing at me as I nearly wretched over the lingering sensation of pulling at the indelicate, yet rubbery, flesh, was I nearly wretching?
Simoons wonders the same thing: why do cultures avoid certain foods? Even though, the roots of such avoidances are mostly hypothetical, he does a fine job of recounting the nuances of each food taboo. The book is succinct and meat-based: swineflesh, dogflesh, horseflesh, camelflesh, and chickens are mostly what's covered here. Food taboo as a cultural institution is the main theme, especially religious reasons, but he digs into why along with the nuances, making for a fine read.