Our food choices are admittedly more often shaped by personal habits, budget, tradition, and culture than by ecological principles.
Consider the traditional American Thanksgiving feast, Christmas dinner, or just a family meal, whose centerpiece is likely to be a large serving of meat. Compare that to the menus and recipes more typical of Italy, Japan, China, India, Southeast Asia, and Latin America.Thinking more of ecology than of tradition, why do the food choices from many other parts of the world emphasize pasta and vegetables?