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Genes, Climate, and Consumption Culture

Connecting the Dots
Genes Climate Culture Book

The book is all about why cultures vary in their consumption of food, shelter and clothing. Most of the cultural differences in consumption are due to climate differences (Arctic, Temperate, and Tropical).

For example, there are sharp differences in diet, clothing and shelter between Northern Europe and Southern Europe. This is due to genes adapting to what local resources are available for food, shelter and clothing.

The book also provides an explanation of the cultural differences between the North and the South regarding punctuality, individualism, social distance or territorialism (turf), and the role of women in society.

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Jagdish Sheth once again journeys to a world neglected by marketing and other researchers. Insightful and beautifully written, Genes, Climate, and Consumption Culture, unveils the role of genes and environment in our everyday consumption.This timely book provides a lens into the most fundamental reasons for our behavior as individuals and in groups, and in the process provides a guide for grounding future study in gene x gene, gene x environment, and gene x phenotype inquiry. Sheth’s far reaching mind and depth of questioning, with his uncanny ability to draw connections to marketing practice, make this book a masterpiece and must read.

Richard BagozziProfessor of Behavioral Science in Management, Ross School, the University of Michigan
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Jagdish Sheth is an authoritative guide to the climactic and geographic influences on what we eat and who we are. He literally turns the old saying “you are what you eat” on its head in this tour of the climate zones of the world. There is a compelling modern twist to the story with the advent of digital technologies that promise to flatten distance and bring places together.

George DayGeoffrey T. Boisi Professor Emeritus at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
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Terrific! I think it is even better than Jared Diamond’s Guns, Germs, and Steel

Professor Harry TriandisEmeritus Professor of Psychology 
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
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This is a fascinating integration of vast data sets from climatology, genetics, archaeology, anthropology, psychology, nutrition, health, history, and many other fields into a coherent framework on “Culture and Human Behavior.” The author has a deep understanding of culture and its relationships to religion, politics, globalization, and climate change. The implications for American foreign policy will make it a required reading for those who are intellectually curious.

Professor Harry TriandisEmeritus Professor of Psychology
 University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
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Genes, Climate and Consumption Culture is a must read, not just for managers interested in global business. It is an important volume for social scientists looking for a fresh, novel and compelling perspective on a complex subject. It is a compelling argument in its own fresh way against the all too common practice of separating nature from nurture. It presents a number of engaging and meritorious hypotheses and a slew of practical ideas for managers.

Gerald ZaltmanThe Joseph C. Wilson Professor of Business Administration Emeritus, Harvard University and Partner, Olson Zaltman Associates