From a strictly qualitative perspective, the amount of food people eat is represented by numbers so large that we end up looking at them in awe, without understanding what they mean. The maintenance of life is an expensive proposition. Nevertheless, once we go beyond the energetic equation, i.e., in the realm of desires, the numbers increase exponentially. It can be argued that this increase (of an order of magnitude of 1,000) is higher than that anticipated by Malthus. On the subject of what, how, and why people eat, see:
Claudio Clini. L'alimentazione nella storia. Uomo, alimentazione, malattie. Abano Terme, Padova: Francisci, 1985.
Evan Jones. American Food. The Gastronomic Story. Woodstock NY:
Overlook Press, 1990.
Nicholas and Giana Kurti, Editors. But the Crackling is Superb. An Anthology on Food and Drink by Fellows and Foreign Members of the Royal Society. Bristol, England: A. Hilger, 1988.
Carol A. Bryant, et al. The Cultural Feast. An Introduction to
Food and Society. St. Paul: West Publishing Co., 1985.
Hilary Wilson. Egyptian Food and Drink. Aylesbury, Bucks,
England: Shire, 1988.
Reay Tannahill. Food in History. New York: Stein and Day, 1973.
Charles Bixler Heiser. Seed to Civilization. The Story of Food.
Cambridge MA: Harvard University Press, 1990.
Margaret Visser. Much Depends on Dinner. The Extraordinary History and Mythology, Allure and Obsessions, Perils and Taboos, of an Ordinary Meal. Toronto, Ont.: McClelland and Stewart, 1986.
Esther B. Aresty. The Delectable Past. The Joys of the Table, from Rome to the Renaissance, from Queen Elizabeth I to Mrs. Beeton. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1978.