A Little Bit of What You Fancy by Desmond Morris- An Analysis

A Little Bit of What You Fancy

                                                                                              -Desmond Morris

Introduction

     Desmond Morris is an English zoologist and writer.  In his essay “A Little Bit of What You Fancy”, he talks about his own mother and the people who lived during the 18^th century and their diet preferences.

The Appetite of the Mother

     The mother of Desmond Morris was born during the reign of Queen Victoria. She enjoyed eating different varieties of food. She ate by piling her plate with greasy, fatty, fried up grill foods without worrying about their bad effects.  She completely ignored the words of health gurus and diet experts. Considering the appetite of his mother, Morris believed that she would die young. But, she lived for 99 years. She did not think of what was correct to eat. For a good digestion, one should not worry while eating.  If one eats in fear and tension, the body will refuse to co-operate.

Modern Pontificators (one who gives opinion)

     Nowadays, the modern pontificators feel that it is their duty to tell the people about what to eat as if they have discovered the secrets of eternal life.  The author dismisses them on two grounds.  First, they keep on changing their views.  Secondly, they overlook the fact that the human species evolved as an omnivore.  Eating the wide verity of food only keeps human beings different from animal rivals.

Cause of Health Problems

     Today, so many people suffer from obesity, indigestion and various diet deficiencies.  The answer lies in their lifestyle.  They do not realize that man needs a variety of food for good health.  The urban people suffer from various anxiety problems and work tensions which lead to indigestion. According to Morris, food should be savoured (tasted), relished, enjoyed and digested at leisure.

Food taboos (ban) and Totems

    There are two reasons for the existence of so many food taboos, namely totems (special respect to religious emblem) and poisons.  People from ancient times chose a particular animal as a god-figure and tried to protect it.  Another reason was the deep-seated human fear of being poisoned.  This irrational fear makes people avoid certain foods and causes anxiety. 

    

Conclusion

     Morris feels that we should never consider the words of food experts or diet gurus. He also enjoy ten more years of life by eating food stuffs prepared by various cooks. So, we should enjoy all kinds of foods and need not worry about the advice of diet experts.