Tag: History of eating

The modern term "pescatarian" was coined in the early 1990s, blending the Italian word for fish with "vegetarian". However, the practice of a plant-based diet supplemented with seafood has been followed for centuries across various cultures and religions. This article explores the rich, ancient history of eating fish and vegetables, long before the modern phrase was popularized.

For much of the Middle Ages, religious authorities often deemed eating breakfast as a sinful act of gluttony, leading many to skip the morning meal altogether. The real answer to what do medieval people eat for breakfast depended almost entirely on social status and physical need, with habits varying drastically from a working peasant to a wealthy lord.

The idea of a forbidden fruit from a religious text is a compelling story, but scientific evidence suggests that fruit-eating began much earlier, with our primate ancestors consuming fruits as far back as 60 to 80 million years ago. This makes answering "Who was the first to eat fruit?" a journey deep into our evolutionary past.

Research shows the proportion of people eating three main meals a day has significantly declined in recent decades. So, why do we eat 3x a day in the first place? The popular custom is not a product of our biological wiring, but rather a historical and social construct that gained prominence during the Industrial Revolution.