How cooking made us human

Did the modern human species arise after our ancestors started cooking their food? In his new book, "Catching Fire", Richard Wrangham argues that is was the practice of cooking food that was central to human evolution- more so than the use of tools or meat-eating. Since cooking makes food more digestible and frees up more energy, it transformed the human body and allowed for bigger, more-developed brains. There were also gender implications. When labor was divided between hunting and cooking, it encouraged structures of marriage and family. Wrangham highlights the importance of cooking by detailing the danger of a complete raw foods diet, and explains how food labeling hides the true caloric impact of different foods. Richard Wrangham joins Larry Mantle to discuss how cooking changed the human species.

Did the modern human species arise after our ancestors started cooking their food? In his new book, "Catching Fire", Richard Wrangham argues that is was the practice of cooking food that was central to human evolution- more so than the use of tools or meat-eating. Since cooking makes food more digestible and frees up more energy, it transformed the human body and allowed for bigger, more-developed brains. There were also gender implications. When labor was divided between hunting and cooking, it encouraged structures of marriage and family. Wrangham highlights the importance of cooking by detailing the danger of a complete raw foods diet, and explains how food labeling hides the true caloric impact of different foods. Richard Wrangham joins Larry Mantle to discuss how cooking changed the human species.

Guest:

Richard Wrangham, author of "Catching Fire: How Cooking Made us Human" (Basic Books). He is the Ruth Moore Professor of Biological Anthropology at Harvard University.