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How learning to cook could save civilisation

Should learning to cook be compulsory for everyone? Yesterday Marks & Spencer launched a new TV show. Last week Marcus Rashford launched an online course. Cooking seems to be all the rage. About 10,000 years ago in the Sahara, a prehistoric man poured a mixture of grains and plants into a pot with some water. He lit a fire below it, heating it up so that its bitter flavours and toxic chemicals vanished. The age of cooking had begun. Humans have cooked ever since. “My definition of Man,” wrote 18th-century writer James Boswell, “is a ‘Cooking Animal’.” The primatologist Richard Wrangham has even argued that cooking triggered our evolution into homo sapiens. Wrangham writes: “It changed our bodies, our brains, our use of time and our social lives.” Archeologists believe that homo erectus was the first species that learnt to heat food, almost 2 million years ago. But the idea of combining ingredients came much later, as hunter-gatherers became farmers. By classical antiquity, cooking had become a valued craft. In the ancient Greek city of Sybaris, the public flocked to cooking contests and new recipes were protected by law. The Roman gourmand Marcus Gavius Apicius once voyaged to Libya just to sample its prawns. Today, cooking is a popular hobby. Celebrity chefs like Jamie Oliver and Nigella Lawson fill television schedules and bestseller lists. According to data from Tesco, last April over a fifth of British residents cooked every meal from scratch. At the same time, the growth of other options — ready meals, takeaways, delivery services — has seen significant numbers of people do the opposite. A 2011 survey by the Food Network found 28% of Americans unable to cook at all. Some believe this should be addressed. Last week, footballer Marcus Rashford and chef Tom Kerridge launched Full Time, a series of Instagram tutorials aiming to get young people to cook healthy, low-cost meals. Home cooking has many evangelists. “Cooking is the one place,” says food writer Lucinda Scala Quinn, “where you have an impact on the physical, spiritual and emotional wellbeing of a human being.” Medical experts have often supported Quinn’s assessment. Home cooking, says Harvard’s David Eisenberg, “can drastically improve your health.” It gives us control over ingredients, allows a balanced diet and increases the variety of food we eat. The mental health benefits are also well-charted. Cooking is creative, stimulating our minds. Studies have found that activities like cooking make people feel happier. As journalist Dillon Thompson says: “working in the kitchen and trying new recipes [is] a way to manage anxiety.” Not everyone feels the same. A 2019 survey found that 53% of U.S. adults enjoyed cooking. But what about the other 47%? While some find cooking a leisure activity, others find it a tedious chore. A compulsory cooking course would alienate those who would rather be doing something else. It can be time-consuming. A 2020 poll found the average person spends 61 minutes cooking a day. For those with stressful work lives, meal preparation can create more stress, and devour their free time. Should learning to cook be compulsory for everyone? Chef’s kiss Absolutely, claim some. The mental, physical and financial benefits of cooking are clear and abundant. Cooking teaches us about food, the Earth’s produce and chemical processes. It instills discipline and focus, which can enhance other aspects of our daily lives. And it serves as a powerful social glue: few things are more rewarding than whipping up a feast for friends and family. Absolutely not, say others. One person’s pleasure is another’s pain, and it would be unfair to impose cooking on those less inclined to it. Indeed, forcing people to learn any skill is unjust. We should be allowed to decide how to educate ourselves. Besides, not all taught knowledge is retained, and there is no guarantee that teaching cooking will turn reluctant students into eager home chefs. KeywordsHomo sapiens - The species to which all modern humans belong. Homo sapiens means "wise man" in Latin.

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