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Re: Vegetarian anthropologists? Help!
Joel and Lynn GAzis-SAx (gazissax@best.com)
Wed, 08 Nov 95 04:36:14 GMT
In article <Pine.OSF.3.91.951105175425.19073A-100000@ouray.cudenver.edu>,
"C.Berry" <camberry@ouray.cudenver.edu> wrote:
>I Doubt any anthropologists, at least in the past, would admit to being
>vegetarians. Note that Marvin Harris in his 1979 "Cultural Materialism"
>counted vegetarianism among humanity's great pathologies (along with
>obesity and bulemia(sp?)). Look also how we say "hunter-gatherers"
>instead of the factually more correct order "gatherer-hunter". This
>obvious bias bothers me, but then I am a vegetarion myself. But, then,
>neither am I famous (yet).
>
>Good Luck,
>Hve Fun
>
>Chris Berry
Interesting that you should point this out, Chris. Studies of
"hunter-gatherer" societies show that most of the food these societies consume
is vegetable. Wherefore the bias? Let us ask who usually has the power in
these societies: the men. Women spend most of their lives very efficiently
feeding everyone. The men sit around, picking their noses, fixing equipment,
and making up stories and songs to while away the hours between hunts.
I don't think, therefore, that the ordering is an expression of prejudice
against vegetarians, per say, but of a social reality: the work of the men is
given a greater value than that of the women.
Regards,
Joel GAzis-SAx
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