Ishtar/Easter/Ostara Clash of Farmers

The Food Timeline: food history reference & research service

Anybody who knows me knows I am obsessed with food. So is my sister. We used to play cooking show when we were kids. My theory about our obsession is because we didn't eat that well when we were little. You can't pay me money to eat canned beans. Beans period, I have memories of eating those beans that are all pale from the can with squishy maple flavour.I hate lasanga too, can't imagine why it was invented. Yuck. I am a hunter gatherer and I eat like a grizzly bear. I love berries and salmon.

I remember my whole life changing when we moved from Army bases to the west coast and our family discovered vegetables! I'll tell you it was a huge culture shock and lifestyle change from the military to the hippies! Brocoli and fresh peppers and yogurt I thought were the most incredible food I had ever eaten. I couldn't get enough salad or brocoli and became a vegetarian for ten years. Got Buddha and Krishna too!

The pagan spring holiday of Ishtar/Ostara is coming up and I was trying to find out the history of eating ham, and any kind of stuff on the Goddess of Heaven, Ishtar (now called Easter). Most of the stuff I am finding online so far is pretty corny, but did find this Food Timeline website.

I am an armchair economist and I believe all ethics and economic structures begin with food and how we get it. I believe what aligns cultures and defines them is how they live by food. I do not define culture by such superficial traits as spice choices or skin colour. That is why I don't believe in the idea of a "clash of civilizations" because China, Middle East, Canada, Britian, India, America and Europe all base their economy on totalitarian agriculture. They are all the exact same culture. They all grow food , lock it up and sell it back to themselves.

Farming and invention of cities

Anyways, I am curious if there is a pagan tradition of eating ham at this holiday...and maybe someone who trips by here will have some answers for me. Meanwhile the Food Timeline website is totally addictive. Oh and what do hunters and gatherers have in common with farmers? Astronomy.

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