Food, cooking, eating, and me

I have had more than an idle interest in what they call Paleo diet, particularly as I’m of an evolutionary bent, and I believe that many more things can be explained through evolution than commonly are considered. In theory, the Paleo diet attempt to recreate the diet that our species evolved on, given that we were small game hunters and scavengers on the African savanna for a couple of million years. All the evidence shows that humans scavenged parts of large game—long bones and skulls—and broke them open to remove the high-fat/high-calorie marrow and brains.

At this time, fruits and nuts were seasonal, and early humans had no storage capability. Vegetables and leaves were small and/or fibrous, not suited for a digestive system evolved through millions of years of meat consumption.

As humans migrated to other parts of the world, they continued to consume as much meat as they could get, and always consumed the fattiest parts. It was during the Neolithic period that the shift began to plant materials, as plant hybridization and agricultural techniques developed to feed populations that had increased beyond what could be fed by hunting and gathering.

It was during this period that people began to consume in quantity many foods which had previously either not been eaten or had been eaten only locally or rarely. The FDA list of the eight most common food allergies—wheat, milk, soybeans, peanuts, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, and eggs—contains just such foods.

People of the Paleo philosophy want to give up all foods that were not consumed by our ancestors a million years ago. One problem is determining exactly what should and should not be eaten. Most books on the topic appear to have made concessions to the establishment in order not to have their book condemned by the pundits of conventional wisdom, which states that a low or no-fat diet is the human ideal.

But anyway, there’s your introduction. The reason I’ve written it is to give you a hint of issues before you read some of this interesting blog on diet and philosophy, Askesis, Philosophy, and Carnivorism.

Whew, I’m all written out. Just read the blog.

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