History of Food

This passage discusses the history of the foods that we have come to know and eat today.

Lexile Level: 860L

Categories: History Sports & Health

Food has been around since the beginning of time. We all have to eat. But how is what we eat today different from what people ate thousands of years ago? The very first things man began to consume were ice and water, followed by shellfish, eggs, insects, and grain. For thousands of years, man's diet was very basic. People thought more about survival than taste. In 4,000 B.C., man began enjoying fruits, such as watermelon. A few hundred years later came popcorn, well before noodles and chocolate, which didn't appear until around 1,500 B.C. But the foods we know and love today didn't come for thousands of years after that. Once man was well-fed, he became more concerned with taste. Soda was introduced in 1886, and pizza followed a few years later in 1895. In 1910, gelatin became popular, followed by chocolate sandwich cookies in 1912 and smoothies in the 1950s. Convenience plays a role in new foods today, including seedless watermelons and tear-free onions.