When the harvest had been spared, our ancestors thanked their deities with offerings of food. This may have been buried, flung into the air, or tossed into afire. The portion earmarked for the deities wasn’t consumed by humans.
Even today, with tremendous botanical knowledge and global weather reporting, farmers in most parts of the world are still at the mercy of natural forces. The increased knowledge and tools available to farmers and agribusinesses can’t stop such events from destroying their crops.
In many parts of the world that suffer food shortages, food has become a tool of politics. People are starving on every continent and within our own borders. Emergency supplies shipped to the hungry are often held up by government intervention or are funnelled to those in power.
These two factors—the uncertainty of our food supply and its scarcity in many parts of the world—should deepen our appreciation of food