Linda Scott Cummings wrote :

> As an anthropologist, I think it is culture that results in this type of behavior.
> So, perhaps one question that we should ask is: "is cultural pressure strong enough
> to overcome instinctual eating patterns in humans?"  I would argue yes, it is --
> particularly over long periods of time.

Considering that some non human primates have the ability to use and even make tools,
would it be exaggerate to consider the mastery of fire as "the" prime factor of human
originality?
Then fire is still only another tool until it is used to process something. Processing
implies changing the nature of the thing that is being processed, right?
Cooking, for instance, changes the nature of the food on a molecular level. Amongst
other things, could the new molecules generated by cooking stimulate the brain (how
can I say that) in a new and not necessarily adapted way?
Could cooking be "the" point of rupture between natural (or innate) behavior and, what
we call, cultural behavior, overcoming instinctual eating patterns by the same token?

Here's a small excerpt from an interesting and disturbing book "La Guerre du Cru" that
may shed some light on the consequences of this event (cooking) :
"...For a baby, the intensity of taste bud gratification and frustration... is very
important. Imagine a baby eating pineapple: The first slice tastes great, and the
second stings his tongue, whereas, with cookies, the second one is as good as the
first, and likewise for the third and the fourth, and his enjoyment always remains the
same. He will reinforce himself in the belief that every one of his predictions must
come true and the outside world must somehow cater for his yearning. Learning with raw
food, on the other hand, might bear in on him that reality is hard to foretell and
that any impression of taste is basically built-in, and, also, like any kind of
flavor, any kind of knowledge is always temporary..."

Does all this make sense to you? Any thoughts?
Any scientific readings on the subject?
By the way, please tell me if I'm overly simplistic or simply being delirious.

Jacques Laurin

Reference
Burger, G.C. "La Guerre du Cru." Roger Faloci Editeur, Paris, 1985, 221 pages.