Learning How and What to Eat
All human beings are born with a liking for sweetness and a slight aversion to bitterness; other than that, almost all of our specific tastes for foods are learned.
But most people don't think that way, so we don't attempt to change our likes and dislikes.
Bee Wilson, British food writer, historian and the author of First Bite: How We Learn to Eat (Basic Books, 2015), shares the latest research on how we develop -- through genetics, culture and happenstance -- our eating habits.
Wilson also talks about a totally bizarre experiment done in 1926, where babies who'd never eaten solid food were put in an experimental orphanage in a hospital and given a wide array of pure, raw foods to choose from (carrots, beets, milk, sour milk, raw beef, etc.). What they discovered was, the babies managed to select fairly balanced diets when left to their own devices and had a wide range of tastes they favored.
Are you a formerly extreme or picky eater and did you manage to try new things? If so, how did you do it? Tweet/call us: 212-433-9692.
— Brian Lehrer Show (@BrianLehrer) December 15, 2015
@BrianLehrer For me it was (positive) social pressure when I moved away from home. Eating w/friends encouraged me to be open to new things!
— Jenny Stratton (@jcordes2) December 15, 2015
