Food and Drink are an integral part of any civilization, or any life style for that matter. Food and drink are important for our survival as a species. Since humans are by nature social creatures, the need to meet basic needs often leads to group food and drink activities. Although it may seem that way, the evolution of human society has actually been built on the foundation of food and drink rituals.
Food and drink go far back in history. The first evidence of food preparation comes from the Paleolithic era, which is approximately 2 million years old. The earliest evidence of human drinking comes from ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia civilizations that span over six thousand years ago. Other than simple grains and roots, early man had no other means of nourishing themselves other than what they could gather around the campfire or hunt from the trees.
With this said, food and drink in modern society have undergone many changes to improve upon human consumption. The advent of refrigeration, easy transportation and mass production all played a large role in the development of the modern food and drink industry. The creation of the labelling system in the manufacture of food has also created uniformity in the nutritional value of different types of food products. Allowing consumers to easily determine whether a certain food or drink is good for them or not. The use of nutritional information on the package of foods has also greatly contributed to the improvement of human nutrition. The use of nutritional labelling on foods has made it possible to provide health claims on all types of food and drink, without the need to base such information on clinical studies.