Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal

Roach explores how cultural conditioning shapes food preferences by examining traditional Inuit eating practices and wartime efforts to change American dietary habits. During a visit to an Arctic athletic competition, Roach encountered Gabriel Nirlungayuk, a health representative promoting traditional organ-based foods to young Inuit people, and Mayor Makabe Nartok. Both men regularly consumed various animal organs, including caribou brain, liver, eyes, and stomach contents, as well as narwhal skin called muktuk.

For Arctic peoples, organ consumption historically represented both economic necessity and nutritional wisdom. With limited vegetation available, organs provided essential vitamins typically found in fruits and vegetables. Roach notes that Arctic health education materials classify organ meats as both protein and produce. The Inuit practice of eating caribou stomach contents allowed them to access pre-digested plant matter that would otherwise be indigestible to humans.

Roach contrasts this acceptance of organ consumption with her own cultural conditioning, describing her hesitation before trying muktuk despite finding it surprisingly pleasant. She then argues that cultural programming largely determines food preferences, citing a 1930s study where orphaned babies naturally selected bone marrow as their favorite food when presented with various whole foods.

The chapter’s central case study examines World War II efforts to promote organ meat consumption in America.