Introduction

It is an obvious fact that no animal eats such a variety of food as man, and climate is undoubtedly one of the main factors in producing a wide diversity of taste. Were edible lizards as common in England as cattle, we should probably have our Iguana fricassées, just as they have in Guinea. “Chacun à son goût.” We like high game; the Annamese like a sauce made from decaying fish. We shudder at the thought of eating cuttlefish or opposum; other nations may shudder at eating our boiled beef and cabbage. Prejudice is never so rampant as where food is concerned, and we find the same contempt for other people’s food among all nations, all tribes, and even religious sects.