--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: So powerful are race- and status-based…" description: "\"“So powerful are race- and status-based disgusts that explorers have starved to death rather than eat like the locals. British polar exploration suffer..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bbe/mary-roach-635_death_so-powerful-are-race-and-status-based-di_2352869.png" --- # So powerful are race- and status-based disgusts that… ![“So powerful are race- and status-based disgusts that explorers have starved to death rather than eat like the locals. British polar exploration suffered heavily for its mealtime snobbery.” quote by Mary Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bbe/mary-roach-635_death_so-powerful-are-race-and-status-based-di_2352869.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bbe/mary-roach-635_death_so-powerful-are-race-and-status-based-di_2352869.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bbe/mary-roach-635_death_so-powerful-are-race-and-status-based-di_2352869.png) > ““So powerful are race- and status-based disgusts that explorers have starved to death rather than eat like the locals. British polar exploration suffered heavily for its mealtime snobbery.”” [Mary Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roach/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human cultural biases can be so strong that they override basic survival needs, leading to extreme self‑sabotage. **In simple terms:** Cultural prejudice can cause self‑destruction. Key Takeaway Question and challenge your own biases. Themes cultural bias survival exploration food prejudice Mood reflective critical Type observational analytical When to use this quote - expeditions - remote research - cross‑cultural encounters - food scarcity - team dynamics Key Concepts anthropology psychology social norms Questions to Reflect On - How do you recognize when bias is endangering you? - What strategies can reduce snobbery in critical situations? A Different Perspective Even strong prejudice may be mitigated by training and leadership. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Disgusts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disgusts-269082/) [Disgusts Explorers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disgusts-explorers-939063/) [Exploration Suffered](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exploration-suffered-5734070/) [Explorers Starved](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/explorers-starved-939061/) [Mealtime Snobbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mealtime-snobbery-939060/) [Travel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/travel/) ## Related quotes > [“Eating organs, in 1943, could degrade one’s social standing. Americans preferred bland preparations of muscle meat partly because for as long as they could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roach/eating-organs-in-1943-could-degrade-one-s-social-standing-americans/) [Mary Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roach/) > [Conservatism, ever more timorous and narrow, disgusts the children, and drives them for a mouthful of fresh air into radicalism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/conservatism-ever-more-timorous-and-narrow-disgusts-the-children-and/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Women are constituted in such a way that all truth (regarding men, love, children, society, the purpose of life) disgusts them, and in such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/women-are-constituted-in-such-a-way-that-all-truth-regarding-men-love/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [I've never had sex. Never wanted to. Not with a man or a woman or an animal, though my family jokes about it. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-phillips/i-ve-never-had-sex-never-wanted-to-not-with-a-man-or-a-woman-or-an/) [Marie Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-phillips/) > [The way to perfection is through a series of disgusts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-pater/the-way-to-perfection-is-through-a-series-of-disgusts/) [Walter Pater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-pater/) > [China once again disgusts the world, portraying the image of a cruel, perverted people devoid of any feelings towards animals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brigitte-bardot/china-once-again-disgusts-the-world-portraying-the-image-of-a-cruel/) [Brigitte Bardot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brigitte-bardot/) > [If something about the human body disgusts you, the fault lies with the manufacturer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lenny-bruce/if-something-about-the-human-body-disgusts-you-the-fault-lies-with/) [Lenny Bruce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lenny-bruce/) > [“He disgusted them the way a fat spider that you can't bring yourslef to crush in your own hand disgusts you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-s-skind/he-disgusted-them-the-way-a-fat-spider-that-you-can-t-bring-yourslef/) [Patrick Süskind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-s-skind/) > [Nothing human disgusts me unless it's unkind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tennessee-williams/nothing-human-disgusts-me-unless-it-s-unkind/) [Tennessee Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tennessee-williams/) > [“If in our day there are so many men that pass before the Cross wagging their head, who gaze at our altars with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-bougaud/if-in-our-day-there-are-so-many-men-that-pass-before-the-cross/) [Emile Bougaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-bougaud/) > [“The fact that I ever raised my hand against a woman disgusts me. It was a f\*\*king atrocious, unforgivable way to behave, and there’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ozzy-osbourne/the-fact-that-i-ever-raised-my-hand-against-a-woman-disgusts-me-it/) [Ozzy Osbourne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ozzy-osbourne/) > [Once one has been to these challenging terrible places they’re always strangely drawn back… because there’s nothing that can compare to seeing the raw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-eldon/once-one-has-been-to-these-challenging-terrible-places-they-re-always/) [Dan Eldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-eldon/) > [We are disgusted by the things that we desire, and we desire what disgusts us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-cuomo/we-are-disgusted-by-the-things-that-we-desire-and-we-desire-what/) [Mario Cuomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-cuomo/) > [“Nothing human disgusts me unless its unkind”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tennessee-williams/nothing-human-disgusts-me-unless-its-unkind/) [Tennessee Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tennessee-williams/) > [I wonder what disgusts you more, the fact that I’m a demon, or the fact that when I touch you, it doesn’t matter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larissa-ione/i-wonder-what-disgusts-you-more-the-fact-that-i-m-a-demon-or-the-fact/) [Larissa Ione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larissa-ione/) ## More by Mary Roach > [“Rawson points out that although snakes can’t taste, they have a primitive sense of smell. They’ll extend their tongue to gather volatile molecules and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roach/rawson-points-out-that-although-snakes-can-t-taste-they-have-a/) [Mary Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roach/) > [“As the number of Inuit who hunt has dwindled, so has the consumption of organs (and other anatomy not available for purchase at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roach/as-the-number-of-inuit-who-hunt-has-dwindled-so-has-the-consumption/) [Mary Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roach/) > [For the most part, if somebody approaches me and says, 'I'd like to interview you,' who am I to say no, when I spend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roach/for-the-most-part-if-somebody-approaches-me-and-says-i-d-like-to/) [Mary Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roach/) > [To me, death is dark, pain, grief.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roach/to-me-death-is-dark-pain-grief/) [Mary Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roach/) > [“If you look at survivable crashes, it’s rare that even half the emergency exits open,” says Shanahan. “Plus, there’s a lot of panic and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roach/if-you-look-at-survivable-crashes-it-s-rare-that-even-half-the/) [Mary Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roach/) > [“…he was doing a breath hydrogen test. If you know the amount of hydrogen someone is exhaling orally, it's a simple matter to extrapolate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roach/he-was-doing-a-breath-hydrogen-test-if-you-know-the-amount-of/) [Mary Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roach/) > [“Viagra isn't the only drug being prescribed off-label for women with arousal problems. Los Angeles urologist Jennifer Berman told me some doctors are prescribing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roach/viagra-isn-t-the-only-drug-being-prescribed-off-label-for-women-with/) [Mary Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roach/) > [Sharing a room with a cadaver is only mildly different from being in a room alone. They are the same sort of company as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roach/sharing-a-room-with-a-cadaver-is-only-mildly-different-from-being-in/) [Mary Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roach/) > [Every now and then, someone will tell me that one of my books has made them laugh out loud. I never believe them because:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roach/every-now-and-then-someone-will-tell-me-that-one-of-my-books-has-made/) [Mary Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roach/) > [“panel applicants at the initial screening were asked not only to describe the cat foods but also to rate them according to how much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roach/panel-applicants-at-the-initial-screening-were-asked-not-only-to/) [Mary Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roach/) > [“\* Kissing is a less aggressive form of bacterial transplant. Studies of three different gingivitis-causing bacteria have documented migration from spouse to spouse. Periodontically…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roach/kissing-is-a-less-aggressive-form-of-bacterial-transplant-studies-of/) [Mary Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roach/) > [“Nirlungayuk reached a similar conclusion. I tracked him down, seventeen years later, and asked him what the outcome of his country-foods campaign had been.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roach/nirlungayuk-reached-a-similar-conclusion-i-tracked-him-down-seventeen/) [Mary Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roach/) > [Astronauts are like these mythic legends, but really, they are just regular people, people who wear chinos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roach/astronauts-are-like-these-mythic-legends-but-really-they-are-just/) [Mary Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roach/) > [“Olive trees grow in the same climate and soil conditions as grapes. The olive oil people have been up in Napa Valley all along,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roach/olive-trees-grow-in-the-same-climate-and-soil-conditions-as-grapes/) [Mary Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roach/) > [“A patient on the way to surgery travels at twice the speed of a patient on the way to the morgue. Gurneys that ferry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roach/a-patient-on-the-way-to-surgery-travels-at-twice-the-speed-of-a/) [Mary Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roach/) [Explore all 435 Mary Roach quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roach/) ## More Death quotes > [“He wondered how it was fair that your dying should depend so much on when you were born.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/he-wondered-how-it-was-fair-that-your-dying-should-depend-so-much-on/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [I do not want to live at the cost of the life even of a snake. I should let him bite me to death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-do-not-want-to-live-at-the-cost-of-the-life-even-of-a-snake-i/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“It was beautiful. He thought he had never seen anything so beautiful in all his life; that, having seen it, he could die content,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/it-was-beautiful-he-thought-he-had-never-seen-anything-so-beautiful/) [Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/) > [Retirement? You're talking about death, right?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-altman/retirement-you-re-talking-about-death-right/) [Robert Altman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-altman/) > [With multiplayer, permanent death, and an ever-changing world to explore and conquer, 'A Valley Without Wind' might be the place you're looking for if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-manuel/with-multiplayer-permanent-death-and-an-ever-changing-world-to/) [Rob Manuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-manuel/) > [“What did you see?” she asked gently. His brow furrowed, as if he could not understand the question. Then his eyes turned to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-anthony-torino/what-did-you-see-she-asked-gently-his-brow-furrowed-as-if-he-could/) [J. Anthony Torino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-anthony-torino/) > [Those whose life is long still strive for gain, and for all mortals all things take second place to money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/those-whose-life-is-long-still-strive-for-gain-and-for-all-mortals/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [“I practice Dying--every night-- But have not learned to, still-- Though Talented--by Mortal bones-- For such a common Skill.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-w-powers/i-practice-dying-every-night-but-have-not-learned-to-still-though/) [Alan W. Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-w-powers/) > [“You must understand the pain and grief of losing someone is nothing more than a function of survival.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-cooper/you-must-understand-the-pain-and-grief-of-losing-someone-is-nothing/) [Steven Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-cooper/) > [I am not a depressive person at all, but I reflect a lot on my life, and life in general, from the perspective of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/i-am-not-a-depressive-person-at-all-but-i-reflect-a-lot-on-my-life/) [Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/) > [“Death is a reality that calls the rest of life and all of our assorted strivings into sharp relief.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/death-is-a-reality-that-calls-the-rest-of-life-and-all-of-our/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [I love life. I love life to death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmanuelle-riva/i-love-life-i-love-life-to-death/) [Emmanuelle Riva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmanuelle-riva/) > [I think when you’re dying you start looking for important things in the corners. You can’t let anything that seems even semi-important pass, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-crutcher/i-think-when-you-re-dying-you-start-looking-for-important-things-in/) [Chris Crutcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-crutcher/) [Browse all 39,127 Death quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“So powerful are race- and status-based disgusts that explorers have starved to death rather than eat like the locals. British polar exploration suffered heavily for its mealtime snobbery.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mary Roach" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roach/so-powerful-are-race-and-status-based-disgusts-that-explorers-have/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Death" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roach/so-powerful-are-race-and-status-based-disgusts-that-explorers-have/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bbe/mary-roach-635_death_so-powerful-are-race-and-status-based-di_2352869.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bbe/mary-roach-635_death_so-powerful-are-race-and-status-based-di_2352869.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bbe/mary-roach-635_death_so-powerful-are-race-and-status-based-di_2352869.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“So powerful are race- and status-based disgusts that explorers have starved to death rather than eat like…” — Mary Roach", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Mary Roach", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roach/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“So powerful are race- and status-based...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roach/so-powerful-are-race-and-status-based-disgusts-that-explorers-have/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roach/so-powerful-are-race-and-status-based-disgusts-that-explorers-have/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```