Hi Christy, I like your insights.  Especially mentioning the white
bread and white rice as a status symbol.  It seems strange that
something which is deleterious to health would become a status symbol,
doesn't it?  I guess it comes down to: if it doesn't work, the being
in question will not survive long enough to pass on their genes.

Jana

"C. ten Broeke" <[log in to unmask]> writes:

> So eating cooked food might be a sign of distincting your self from the
> "others" which is something humankind has been trying ever since we got
> out of the trees (my opinion, not proven scientifically). The way we
> dress, speak, adorn ourselves, it is all a cultural signal saying, This
> is my identity.  So why not when it comes to food?
> I've seen women squarrel over the right way to bake an applepie or what
> should be in couscous...
> White bread was considered a luxury only rich people could afford so
> seen as a statussymbol.  The same goes for white rice which caused a
> wave of beri-beri in Japan early 20th century (is the date correct
> fellowlister who lives in Japan?).