On Food and Cooking

advanced intellectual syntheses: life as
rhythmic, death as a return, and so on.
These syntheses were essential to man’s
development, and were possible only after
the discovery of agriculture.
— Patterns in Comparative Religion, 1958
In the Odyssey, Homer called wheat and
barley “the marrow of men’s bones.” It’s less
obvious to us in the modern industrialized
world than it has been through much of human
history, but seeds remain the essential food of
our species. Grains directly provide the bulk
of the caloric intake for much of the world’s
population, especially in Asia and Africa. The
grains and legumes together provide more
than two-thirds of the world’s dietary protein.
Even the industrial countries are fed indirectly
by the shiploads of corn, wheat, and soybeans
on which their cattle, hogs, and chickens are
raised. The fact that the grains come from the
grass family adds a layer of significance to
the Old Testament prophet Isaiah’s