The Primal Feast: Food, Sex, Foraging, and Love

When her husband asked her (""over a wine-dark lamb stew"") what role she'd play in a paleolithic society, Allport decided that she'd be a forager, seeking edible leaves, weeds, roots and berries. Out of her hunch about her own nature--and her energy in finding and interviewing specialists--grew these investigatory essays about food finding, food selection and food preparation among animals and human beings. Allport (A Natural History of Parenting) visits cold Coats Island in Hudson Bay to learn about the birds called thick-billed murres and how they are nourished, and flourish, in the harsh environment; explains how ""changes in food supply can change the sociability of animals"" and of starving human beings; glosses modern chimp researchers' conclusions about gender and eating habits; covers the sources of meat and carbohydrate cravings in frustrated humans; and explains why various species of monkeys have drastically different attitudes toward edible leaves, fruit, people and peanut-butter sandwiches. ""Optimal Foraging Theory"" explains why coyotes might pass up tasty rabbits, and why in the American West--but not in the South nor in New England--native peoples once made meals out of insects. Herb lore, deer-watching, ""remarkable hunting techniques"" from Kenya to Kalamazoo, ""foodie movies"" (e.g., Babette's Feast), the origins of neolithic agriculture and Allport's ""near-magnetic attraction to half-eaten food"" all play into her enlightening study. Not a working scientist, Allport employs a readable style (at times reminiscent of Peter Matthiessen's) that serves her well in condensing the science she gathers: the result is a crisp volume good enough to eat. (Mar.)