Were our ancestors meat eaters millions of years ago?

October 8 2012 by in Meat, Paleo diets

When did our ancestors start eating meat? An exciting archeological find supports the idea that we needed meat to survive as early as 1,5 million years ago. That means our ancestors had probably been eating meat regularly for a long time prior to that date.

The piece of bone above comes from a two years old child that may have died from lack of (vitamin B12) meat millions of years ago. Thus veganism without B12 supplementation may have been dangerous for a long time!

Sci-news.com: 1.5-Million-Year-Old Skull Fragment Shows Oldest Evidence of Regular Meat Consumption

Here’s the study behind the news.

Guide to red meat – is it healthy?

A ketogenic diet for beginners

How to eat low carb as a vegan

38 comments

Top comments

Beach Wood
October 8 2012 14
veganism is a dangerous eating disorder... isn't that common knowledge?

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b-nasty
October 8 2012 10
I didn't see anywhere in the original post where there are digs at vegans, the Diet Dr. was just stating that vegan diets can be (and have been) a potentially dangerous way to eat. Sure, if your diet is perfectly formatted, has the necessary supplements, and you are a good converter of plant based vitamins/fats (e.g. beta carotene to Vit A or ALA [flax] to EPA [omega3]) you may be fine. If not, you run the risk of seriously damaging your health. All the anecdotal experiences of vegans that have the money and professional nutritionists to avoid the pitfalls won't change that.

The ethics conversation can go around in circles forever. In this context (blog) however, the focus is on the foods to eat that will keep a human as healthy as they can be. I, and most (>95% that eat meat) others consider that to be all the ethical consideration necessary.

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All comments

1
Beach Wood
October 8 2012 14
veganism is a dangerous eating disorder... isn't that common knowledge?
2
FrankG
October 8 2012 5
We really only need look at the natural diet of our closest cousins the Chimpanzees, to see that the idea of them living solely on plants is bogus... plenty of animal sources are included: termites, small birds, monkeys etc...
3
Dr. Mark
October 8 2012 6
Game meats were our best source of Omega 3s back then. Aside from that, meat tastes good :)
4
Lomac
October 8 2012 1
It is widely recognised among vegan groups worldwide (who tend to be a higher educated group endorsed by Bill Clinton, Forks over knives and the likes) that b12 is low in vegans and NEEDS TO BE SUPPLEMENTED. Vegans now know, but used to not. Studies like EPIC UK highlighted the need for supplements.

Letting that go, I think you should leave vegans alone. What did they do to you doc?? :P While your website is very respectable and educational, I think the constant digs at vegans is getting old. If they are vegan for ethical reasons, let them be; even if you don't think the diet is great. Look at Rich Roll http, ultramarathoner or whatever! I am sure he is supplementing b12 and appears to be thriving on a vegan diet!

Besides. You know very well that B12 is made by bacteria, found in soil and if we consider the lack of antibacterial vegetables wash available back then- they would have got b12 that way! I am diagnosing that poor child with Crohn's Disease or plain pernicious anaemia.

Thats my 2 cents ***Disclaimer, I am not a vegan, but a healthcare professional ;)
5
b-nasty
October 8 2012 10
I didn't see anywhere in the original post where there are digs at vegans, the Diet Dr. was just stating that vegan diets can be (and have been) a potentially dangerous way to eat. Sure, if your diet is perfectly formatted, has the necessary supplements, and you are a good converter of plant based vitamins/fats (e.g. beta carotene to Vit A or ALA [flax] to EPA [omega3]) you may be fine. If not, you run the risk of seriously damaging your health. All the anecdotal experiences of vegans that have the money and professional nutritionists to avoid the pitfalls won't change that.

The ethics conversation can go around in circles forever. In this context (blog) however, the focus is on the foods to eat that will keep a human as healthy as they can be. I, and most (>95% that eat meat) others consider that to be all the ethical consideration necessary.
6
Thrand Godfrey
October 8 2012 6
Doc I say lets pick a bone with the Vegans again they deserve it, telling every-one that it is a anti-aging and anti heart disease diet when the later is true and lying about famous people all being vegan while they are not to convince young people its healthy and good for them. If they did it knowing that it will shorten their lives but they love animals more than their own life but hate plants then I say its OK.but if people are connived wrongly that it s healthier for them and not because of shear moral and gilt from killing animals then it is Trolls work and should not be tolerated.
7
Wade Henderson
October 9 2012 1
Please, this setting up the vegans as the "strawman" is such a weak thing to do.

Not only the orginal post by the doctor, but some of the inane comments that followed.

The alternative to a HFLC diet is not becoming a strict vegan or even a vegetarian. About 90% of the alternatives involve eating animal products to one degree or another. Even many of the better known "low fat" proponents such as Dr. Dean Ornish allow animal products in all but their strictest "reversing heart disease" diet.

http://www.pmri.org/lifestyle_program.html#nutrition

Or look at the DASH diet, or the Mediterranean diet, etc. all allowing animal products sufficient in B12.

Really picking out vegan's problems with B12 is like some vegans saying HFLC folks don't allow any grains at all. Billions of people around the world live on low fat, high carb diets and have ZERO deficiency in B12. It requires fairly minimal amounts of animal products to get sufficient B12.

What the people ate 1.5 million years ago? I imagine they ate anything they could get their hands on, be it plant or animal, fat or carb. You ate it all to survive. They didn't have the luxury of wacky extremes. This looking back in ancient dietary history is like folks who go back to the Bible and finding exactly what they're looking for to back up the theory they hold. In the Bible you can prove just about anything. Same with looking at ancient diets.

BTW, I'm eating meat tonight, last night, the night before that, etc. I dare say in the last 30 days I've not had one day without eating meat, or fish, or eggs. (no Spam though)
8
Thrand Godfrey
October 9 2012
Well I know this in anthropology/Archeology they use a radioactive test method on carbon isotopes in bones and all human bones show up as carnivorous for 100 of thousands of years.unlike cow bones and rabbits that are tested as well.They look identical to lets say wolf bones except for a small amount of berries possibly eaten and nuts.It was not to the last 10,000 years we became true omnivores and our health has gone down hill every since as the carbs increase.
9
Wade Henderson
October 9 2012
"It was not til the last 10,000 years we became true omnivores and our health has gone down hill ever since as the carbs increase."

Amazing, simply amazing. From 8000 BC until now in 2012 AD, down hill.
Of course there is loads of medical science to prove exactly that.
Ah yes, the Golden Age of human health, 8012 BC.
10
Thrand Godfrey
October 9 2012 1
Wade are you a Vegan ?? Ancient grains were not modified I know this and were fermented with bacteria a technologically advanced process for human consumption compared to how they are processed today.Also people were slowly introduced to them from a all most carnivorous life style meaning they were not the primary staple and beer was the main concern from grains when it all started not bread.People would have eaten them to get by when meat was scarce and to replace Glycogen as a treat not as a main staple but the beer lovers would have consumed I am sure but not every one would have gone wild so to speak with carbohydrates.So yes health would have been good early introduction of Grains due to pure grains like einkorn,emmer ect Fermented to partially digest them and remove phytic acid to make nutrients more available but that is not what it has become in modern era.Now they have modified grain genetically and created modern dwarf wheat and they are no longer fermented at all and not consumed as famine, refreshing foods(Glycogen re-placers for warriors,athletes ect) or treats. Remember Fructose was not common nor common sugar at this time to help cause the obesity epidemic on;y malted grains ,Stuff like Dates and rare honey because no one kept bee hives.

Watch Fathead Documentary and In search of the perfect Human Diet.
11
Thrand Godfrey
October 9 2012 1
People also were very Physically active every one exercised continuously meaning Glycogen stores would be low and grains and Small Beers would not be a bad thing in moderation.Modern technology has robbed us of our health by making every job easy for a price money and health. Loki ate Gullvieg's heart meaning Technology Consumed Greed and the world has suffered ever since :(
12
eddie watts
October 9 2012
i doubt very much that 8000 years ago anyone ate grains to "restore glycogen" though.
13
Wade Henderson
October 9 2012
Thrand, regarding "In search of the perfect Human Diet"

I wonder, there are about 7,000 million people living on Earth today.
Is there any city, local region, or island, where even 1 million of them are eating the "perfect Human Diet".

Please let me know which place this is so I can look it up.

Or has humanity got it so entirely wrong that there is no place on Earth where the majority of people currently eat the "perfect Human Diet"?
14
Thrand Godfrey
October 9 2012
Oh by the way Eddie there are extremely physically active people on a low carb diet that eat 100 grams or slightly more that manage to stay in keto wile others not so physically active have to stay as low as 20 grams or so to loose weight and stay in keto.Were do you think the Carbs are going most are replacing glycongen stores they are not just burning them off as they eat them that is almost impossible with out storing fat and gaining weight.
15
FrankG
October 9 2012 7
You know, I think it's perfectly fine to be pushing back against veganism... I see an increasing undercurrent in the media and even government policy that the best, healthiest and most sustainable diet for the planet is more plants and less (preferably no) meat. Everyone and their dog are convinced that: by default, fruit and vegetables are the wonder food! Even our weather network channel here in Canada runs a segment from time to time about how eating less meat each week will help combat global warming! It's bull-crap and I'm heartily sick of it... so keep on working to redress the balance Dr Andreas! :-)
16
Thrand Godfrey
October 9 2012
Wade the movie "In search of the perfect human diet" does not look for it here in the present time it searches though Anthropology/Archeology asking the question from many different men high up in those fields of researcher.They show the time line how many years we have been eating mostly animal products which is around 1.5 million years if not more.They prove this by showing ancient humans and moderns unearthed over that time period and looking at what physical evidence shows us animal bones and tools and weapons for hunting.They also show the Radioactive method of testing carbon isotopes that can show type of diet Carnivore or herbivore.They examine Bones from Wolves,Sheep,cows,Lions and ancient Humans.They find the Human bones match the same type of Diet as the Wolves and lions not cows or sheep.This Video was made by a former Vegan who went paleo to save his life because his health was deteriorating on the Vegan diet.To find the perfect human diet in this day and age would be almost impossible in its natural state industry,Corporations and modern technological greed are every were now.You might look up Weston A Prices research but most hunter gather societies are not untouched at the present time by modern influences.

Wade are you a Vegan?? I would assume you are not LCHF by the way you are talking.IF so why are you on this forum.A Troll maybe??
17
Gustav Alexander
October 9 2012
I completely agree with the points of your update Andreas but i dislike the rhetorics. You know those militiant-vegan sides that has this 'in-your-face-veganism-or-death' attitude? this seems to approximate that rhetoric.
18
Ted Burke
October 9 2012 1

"An exciting archeological find supports the idea that we needed meat to survive as early as 1,5 million years ago."

I don't know how many vegetarians there are in the world, but given that it's in the hundreds of millions, I think the assertion that humans need meat to survive or ever have done is hard to believe.

I'm all for eating delicious, nutritious meat, but if someone chooses not to eat it, I respect that decision. There are far worse diets than a well-balanced vegetarian (or even vegan) diet. Anyone who feels compelled to shout at vegans that they're in immediate mortal peril would do well to look at how long vegans actually live (it's not dramatically different from average). If the comments I see here about vegans were true, they should all be out shopping for coffins.
19
FrankG
October 9 2012 1
"Anyone who feels compelled to shout at vegans that they're in immediate mortal peril" LOL where exactly do you see anyone doing that?

Vegetarians who comprise by far the bulk of your "hundreds of millions" still eat animal products... so that is besides the point.

Yes, as humans we are opportunistic omnivores and we can live on pretty much anything that is alive -- plant and/or animal.. it's all on the same tree of life. Although I will contend that it is far easier to get complete nutrition from animal sources.

As for vegans and those who feel compelled to stand up for them, I just wish they would leave me the heck alone to eat the way *I* choose. I'm sick of being preached to, moralised at, or judged for my choices.

Reply: #24
20
Thrand Godfrey
October 10 2012 1
I would like a study showing how long an all most Carnivorous person would live.You can not compare a Vegan or Vegetarian to a modern Diet consisting of excessive Carbohydrates and sugars especially with modern miss information given out by Government agencies and doctors to it and say yes they live longer than the modern standard Diet which is crap to begin with.What an accomplishment to live a hair longer than a man who eats garbage with garbage information and advertising to choose what to eat.The point you miss the Vegetarian diet and Vegan diet would spike insulin regularly and cause fat storage with out limiting your food intake.Meaning yes people starving or limiting intake to an amount the body thinks is too low is the only way to stay skinny this way.Vegans normally have boneless and both have problems with muscle structure and gaining strength.As well as many vitamin deficiencies.With out access to modern foods and production as well as supplements the Vegan diet is not sustainable in an ancient era.The regions of different areas with out modern availability to fruits and vegetables year round make this style of diet impossible.All the products used to this date were not available all around the world year round.Fruit would come when ripe then be gone certain vegetables would be available then be gone ect.Ancient food preservation techniques would not allow every thing year round at all nor harvest schedules.Plus many modern food to supplement proteins B vitamins ect were not know by all cultures and for 2 million years many were invented with in the last 10,00 years as well as food preservation techniques.Vitamin pills or supplements did not exist then either last few hundred years on them.

My money has the man on mostly Fat and animal protein will comprising most of his diet will live longer than any you have mentioned.Look at many of the new studies on aging cancer and heart disease pertaining to not spiking blood sugar and excessive carbohydrates not being used causing these problems in the human body.
21
FrankG
October 10 2012 3
And if you really think that the poor little vegans are just sitting quietly by, trying to get on with their own lives, making their own choices, without trying to change the way the world eats: take a close look at organisations like the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), or the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) -- both grand and noble sounding names that belie the thinly veiled facts that they are well-funded lobby groups, working diligently at influencing the media, public opinion and government policy in favour of vegetarian and vegan agendas.

Where are our advocates?
22
Thrand Godfrey
October 10 2012
I will add this the only thing we eat that gets turned in to Testosterone is Cholesterol.Saturated fats or good for you and important to water prof cells especially in the human brain.So what I am saying by telling people to eat grains instead of meat you make them Thralls so to speak less Testosterone and to weak and sickly to fight back making them less aggressive and relying on you to care for them.

Vegans are trying to convert every one that is their Job it is a religion not diet based on science or health.The Trolls are helping propagate it because it makes these powerful people money due to feeding people cheap crap and treating the illnesses they cause.It also makes sure we idolize any one who does not suffer from these problems and seek out fake cures in the process which helps in selling people on stuff they do not need when the answer to good health is hidden under their Noses.If they are preaching over population and something has to be done the last thing they want is us living longer.
23
Wade Henderson
October 10 2012 1
Thrand Godfrey, thanks for your posts, they are classics.

Oh, btw, I am not vegan, not even vegetarian.
24
Reply to comment #19 by FrankG
Ted Burke
October 10 2012

"LOL where exactly do you see anyone [shouting at vegans that they're in immediate mortal peril]?

Ok, hopefully it was clear that I was daramatising my statement a little bit. To be fair though, one of the top rated comments on this post is "veganism is a dangerous eating disorder... isn't that common knowledge?".

Vegetarians who comprise by far the bulk of your "hundreds of millions" still eat animal products... so that is besides the point.

The reason that it isn't beside the point is that it was a direct response to the statement "An exciting archeological find supports the idea that we needed meat to survive as early as 1,5 million years ago." Note: "meat", not "animal products". And yes, when I said "hundreds of millions", I said it about vegetarians rather than vegans.

Yes, as humans we are opportunistic omnivores and we can live on pretty much anything that is alive -- plant and/or animal.. it's all on the same tree of life.

I favour a more selective approach to grazing from the tree of life ;-)

Although I will contend that it is far easier to get complete nutrition from animal sources.

Agreed.
25
Thrand Godfrey
October 10 2012
What I am trying to say is I do not believe the Vegan diet is a diet to extend longevity per say unless you starve yourself to limit Carbohydrates and Sugars like Fructose.I can not see how you can keep insulin down wile relying solely on Sugars and Carbs with some fiber to sustain yourself.The latest cancer research show excess Glucose in the blood stream feeds cancer and enables it to grow faster than it can be dealt with by the bodies natural defenses.Heart disease and bad blood lips as well as inflammation are also linked to excessive carbs.Diabetes is also caused by obesity and excessive carbohydrates as well.So what would a vegan do to limit insulin secretion and burn fats other than go into starvation to do so.Coconut oil??Avocado?? Just does not seem possible.

I make ferments like homemade sauerkraut and yes they do have some B vitamins and minerals from the fermentation and dead Bacteria growing in them and very low in carbs but I do not think this is the answer. They are more digestible,pro-biotic and good for you but this will not sustain you by it self.My research shows it will still not make up meat in the diet though.I make homemade Buttermilk and ale as well many other fermented products like sourdough breads.They are only good for a carb up IMO to replace Glycogen.

Thanks for saying what I said is classic.Complement or not I took it as so LOL
26
JAUS
October 10 2012 8
Veganism is a dangerous ideology that deserves to be criticized. Too many people have been hurt by the misinformation about the "health benefits" of veganism. Many of the claims about the advantages of veganism are just wishful thinking and un-scientific. Most ideologies are dangerous because of the dogma that they promote.

A true sceptic must always be preperad to question everything they know, especially things that they want to be true, and should always follow the evidence and never their "feelings".
27
Thrand Godfrey
October 10 2012
Some one said people would not unknowingly be replacing Glycogen stores in ancient times please read this article about Glycogen and replacement.

http://www.justinowings.com/understanding-bodyweight-and-glycogen-de/
28
Wade Henderson
October 10 2012
Thrand, there you go again, seeming to be obsessed about vegans.

You do realize they comprise no more than 1% of the population in most Western nations.
With vegetarians making up from 3% to 8% in those same countries.
Of course many of those vegetarians comsume cheeses, yogurts, milk, eggs and such.

But there you go with famous statments "I can not see how you can keep insulin down wile relying solely on Sugars and Carbs with some fiber to sustain yourself."

You'd think vegans were all running down to the store to buy donuts, pasteries, bananas, corn flakes, and mashed potatoes. Washed down with liters of sugary fruit drinks.

You do realize that most vegans do not have a problem with insulin, diabetes, or obesity.
That you'd have a problem with what you imagine to be a vegan diet is one thing. Perhaps you have problem genes. A little fact checking will allow you to understand that those problems are rare for vegans. Veganism, certainly not for everyone, not for me, not for you, but hardly a diet that produces the problems you seem to dream up and fear.

Like I said, vegans make up about 1% of people, and with all their much ballyhooed propaganda, perhaps in 20 years, they'll make up 2% of people. Interestingly I find their efforts to convert people about equal to that of those promoting HFLC and Paleo, though clearly in recent years, the HFLC adherents have far more publicity. One only need look at Amazon's list of the top 20 food/diet books.
I'd day 16 of the top 20 are HFLC or Paleo.
Seems the vegan crusaders are doing a poor job. Not to worry in the long run because from what you say, they'll all be dying off soon anyway. Natural selection will eliminate them in due course.

Reply: #30
29
eddie watts
October 10 2012
Thand you are so preaching to the choir and in a very inaccurate way too.
reread what i wrote above.
i will recreate here :"i doubt very much that 8000 years ago anyone ate grains to "restore glycogen" though."
to summarise here. 8000 years ago humans did not know about glycogen or that grains/carbs restore it or that it is depleted in exercise. your post suggested that they knew this and specifically ate carbs TO restore glycogen.
and as to
"Oh by the way Eddie there are extremely physically active people on a low carb diet that eat 100 grams or slightly more that manage to stay in keto wile others not so physically active have to stay as low as 20 grams or so to loose weight and stay in keto.Were do you think the Carbs are going most are replacing glycongen stores they are not just burning them off as they eat them that is almost impossible with out storing fat and gaining weight."
i do this so i am well aware of this possibility.
the wording of your posts on here make you out to be as bad as the misleading vegan websites.
is english a second language for you? i ask because if it is this would at least explain some of the confusion from your posts.
30
Reply to comment #28 by Wade Henderson
FrankG
October 10 2012 3
Wade I am not suggesting that the vegan "propaganda" will lead to mass conversions... as Jaus pointed out veganism is an ideology and changing people's core values is an uphill struggle. It is also a mistaken ideology; as trying to eat without taking life is impossible... as I pointed out above: all plant and animal life on this planet is part of the same genome.

No, what I am more concerned about is their effect on public opinion and especially on government policy:

It was largely through the efforts of the CSPI that MacDonalds stopped using beef-tallow for its french-fries and instead switched to "heart-healthy" trans-fats in vegetable oils! Bugger-all to do with "science in the public interest" and everything to do with stopping others from eating animal products.

And currently at the PCRM website I see they have a petition for the USDA to "Get Milk Out of School Lunches". So much for responsible medicine.

Now they are teaming up with environmentalists to convince everyone it is better for the planet

These people are affecting what we get to eat... are you content to sit back and let that happen?
31
Thrand Godfrey
October 10 2012
If you are in a a low carb state like Keto and and burn up a lot of glycogen and need more you will crave foods if available to restore it then you body will tell you no more when your full on Glycogen.How can you be sure no one understood this 8000 years ago?They would not call it glycogen but would understand the effect.I do CKD so yes I believe if you natural state is carnivous you will only eat carbs to replace missing energy then not crave them after they are replaced.I believe our ancient ancestors were highly advanced compared to us we have declined terribly over the years.As for vegetarians having no problem with insulin and LCHF being just as effective as their diet in making one healthy.You have no clue do you at all?The Vegetarian diet is not as effective and in no way can be you have no understanding of the science behind it do you or how it effects health,,aging or the human body??even if you compare them this is an insult at best.You need to lurk more because you clearly do not understand the difference are here tolling to miss lead others.
32
Alan
October 10 2012 3
Are vegan and vegetarian (and poor) people thriving in terms of vitamin B12 levels? What about India? Can we know without measuring?

Stabler and Allen (2004) Vitamin B12 deficiency as a worldwide problem. Annual Review in Nutrition. 24:299-326.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15189123
33
Wade Henderson
October 11 2012
Frank, last I looked, no one in America was having trouble finding meat, milk, cheese, butter, cream, eggs, fish in any supermarket or restarurant. That one should be concerned about CSPI or PCRM limiting your choices is laughable.
If their influence is a 3, then the meat, dairy, and restaurant industry rate a 97 on a 1 to 100 scale.

Meanwhile if you are going to be against their tactics, then I guess you have to be against those who are trying to cut out all the sugary (carb laden) drinks. Do you oppose those efforts?

If you look at the entire nation or even the earth, clearly the anti-vegetarian, anti-vegan forces are moving in the other direction. In almost all the nations rising into the middle class, the consumption of meat and fat is rising, not falling.
All this hysteria about vegans here seems to be born out of insecurity.

Also, it must be noted that 98% of the world has no desire to be in a Keto state.

I see this "man the barricades" mentality on both extremes of the diet wars. Scary carbs on one site and scary fat and oil on the other. Each group well stocked with studies and ancient civilizations as proof.
Meanwhile, in the middle, the public gets fatter and fatter while diet books fly off the shelves.
34
Jos.
October 11 2012 2
At mid-life, I have fallen prey to many diet industry regimes; and I believed many strange quasi-scientific facts socially attached to ideological political romances. Last February my doctor weighed me in at 287lbs (130.5kg), while my feet, knees and back were in extreme pain, breathing and sleep were very troubled. I asked for advice about wheat, carbohydrates and sugar; but my doctor seemed professionally bound to say that an omnivore diet is better.

I went with LCHF regardless and have been liberating about a stone every two months. And about an inch of male waist-circumference per month. I was once told in my health food adventure that a pound of human fat holds about 3500 calories. If I am losing even as little as seven pounds a month, that daily increase in ketolytic burning is 24500 cal / 30 days = 817 cal per day. I do not feel crazy hungry any more, and although I sometimes am concerned like many these days about my budget; yet the overall angst reduction is a significant mental health benefit -- which was a real clinical point of concern. In another year, and beyond, this lifestyle I ought to be able to fully leave the false fashion of health food diets in the fog of the foolish vicissitudes of youth.

Last week I went to donate blood, and the blood-clinic nurses were complimenting my blood pressure and pulse, which they asserted were improved from last visit and notably healthy by their standards. [133 systolic: 79 diastolic] BP: 60:80.

On the weekend following, I watched a Lars Monsen documentary about his two and a half year trek across the full expanse of the Canadian continental north. He lived {almost} exclusively on fish, fat, rabbits, ptarmigan, and sometimes caribou or moose. And never demonstrated the tired, cranky, fickle or distracted angsty behaviour typical of modernity. He always had the energy and interest to continue with his adventure, and was regularly able to demonstrate strategic and intelligent focus when encountering difficulties.

The american comedian Lewis Black has a joke about the ambiguity of diet industry claims on longevity diets, where he cites a man in New York who lived to be 106, or so, on fat-back [pork] and red wine. At the time I heard the joke, it seemed an outrageous expression of the angst of diet, and funny across that conscious-unconscious tension; but now it seems more truthful than comedic.
35
FrankG
October 11 2012 1
Good lord... I had no idea you were such a drama-queen Wade.. the funny thing is that you entered this comments section with an admonishment against using "strawmen" LOL

I love the way you pull statistics out of thin air (or somewhere much darker) as if your made-up numbers have any meaning or significance.

These influential lobby-groups have ALREADY affected the way many people eat and although dressed up in "science" or "responsible medicine" they obviously have another agenda that overrides those high ideals. Yes, those with the money, free access and education can indeed choose to eat well but as I also pointed out these groups are trying to change what is offered in school lunchrooms...no doubt social programs as well.

I disagree with ANY lobby group (even anti-sugar -- if such existed) having more of a say in government policy than the voting public.... they are supposed to represent the people, NOT the loudest, most powerful, or richest voices.

That said I see no "forces of evil" ranged against me, nor do I see an on-going conflict which by definition requires opposing "sides"... my world is not quite so black and white.
36
Thrand Godfrey
October 12 2012
Hey guys also read this article at Mark's daily apple about fall it should explain how certain foods were only available at certain times and regulated them self by nature.Fat gain and loss were in balance until availability and more processed unnatural food products became available due to modern technology and greed.Our instinct if was at a natural level would be stock up on fruit wile it is there because it does not last but the craving is for the sweetest food we can find to store fat.Normally fructose which is converted to fat the market saw this and decided this was good year round.So now every one only stores fat they do not burn it simple.

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/fall-foods-why-seasonal-eating-primes-...

Reply: #37
37
Reply to comment #36 by Thrand Godfrey
Keith
November 13 2012
That is kind of along the same lines I was thinking. This is an observation that has likely been made many times before, but I had an idea about how we evolved as omnivores and how it was likely guided by natural selection.
Humans have the ability to eat meat or non-meat items and can survive on both. Eating meat would lead to healthy and prosperous outcomes for our ancestors, but in times of scarcity, we could switch to carbs or sugars to survive. Because carbs and sugars would likely be consumed only in times of desperation, our bodies kicked up the insulin response to these types of foods to ensure that we maintain a good fat reserve until we can again start consuming meat.
It makes intuitive sense, and I suppose the takeaway is that in modern society, there's not much need to consume the foods that we would only have eaten out of desperation.
38
JP
May 10 2014
If anything, this is proof that meat wasn't common at all, and whilst it has been part of our diet for millions of years, the current rates of consumption are totally unrelated to the amount of meat they ate back then.

Were our ancestors meat eaters millions of years ago?

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