The theft of fire is one of the most common threads in the mythologies of a wide range of cultures. Prometheus, the Greek Titan, famously stole fire from Mount Olympus and was punished by Zeus to an eternity of suffering, bound to a rock to have his liver eaten each day by an eagle. Prometheus’ sacrifice, in the myth, brought light and separated man from beast.
The origins of man’s control of fire are unclear, but the fossil record indicates that Homo erectus first controlled fire to cook food around 1.8 million years ago. It is not impossible to imagine the astonishment of early man after striking two stones together to create a spark, nor is it impossible to see that spark as the beginning of mankind.
A recent study by two Brazilian researchers establishes the link between a surge in human brain size and the control of fire for cooking. Cooking allowed early humans to consume more nutrients, spend less time searching for food and led to the development of larger brains. Cooking unlocked 100 percent of the nutrients in foods, versus 30 to 40 percent in raw foods, and bypassed the potential problem of having to eat for over nine hours a day to sustain larger brains.
But what does this mean? The human brain has more than double the number of neurons of our closest primate cousins: cooking determined that separation. The ability to control and cook with fire defined the transition from Homo erectus to Homo sapiens.
We are not defined by our communication or our social structures, nor by our emotions or technology. Cooking, the control and use of fire to change what we eat, is what separates human beings from chimpanzees, gorillas and the rest of the animal kingdom. Yet, beginning in the 20th century, we have moved away from the one thing that makes us uniquely human.
The percentage of meals eaten outside of the home has steadily increased since the 1920s, with some estimates well exceeding 50 percent. This trend has coincided with bulging waistlines; increased sodium, fat, cholesterol, and scales tipping an average of almost 200 pounds for adult men (the average is 194.7 pounds).
This also means that less time is being spent around a table with other people, little time spent cooking and, ultimately, we are becoming less human. The USDA reported that in 2011 about 42 percent of a household’s food expenditures were spent on food outside the home. This is only a snapshot of a trend that has defined the “American way” of eating for much of the last century.
The mythological history of fire emphasizes not only its importance to mankind, but also the sacrifice in obtaining it. Cooking is a definitive part of our humanity, but it has been replaced by one-minute rice, microwave dinners and a dependence on fast food. A reversal of the trend of eating out by returning to cooking not only honors Prometheus’ martyrdom, but also reconnects us to what makes us human.
Sam Mendelson is a sophomore in the School of International Service.
edpage@theeagleonline.com
