Cultural themes linking food and social life a. The mouth as gateway to the body. To take care of one's body, take care about what enters it. Food touched by cockroaches or rats is undesirable. Such acquired liking for unpalatable foods is very unusual in animals.
Parents engage children in preparation of food, and reward children for food consumption.
Adults transmit culture-wide food preferences while not transmitting their own more unique preferences. Transmission of moral values Apparently, moral values are transmitted from adult to child more effectively than are food preferences. In one study, data were collected from college students before they began college and for the following 3 years. Reductions in healthy food choices, and increases in meals skipped were found. However, parents' health practices and beliefs were significant predictors of their children's health beliefs.