How We Eat: Appetite, Culture, and the Psychology of Food

An informative look at the history of eating that’s a tasty combo of fact and fun

We enjoy watching celebrity chefs on TV, but so few of us choose to cook at home. The gourmet health food industry is soaring, yet a longtime love affair with fast food endures. Food and eating habits — good and bad — have shaped cultures, accounted for behaviors, and created a sense of individual as well as cultural identity… but how? And why?

Social psychology professor Leon Rappoport treats the dinner table...