THE EVOLUTION OF DIET BY DESMOND MORRIS

[Guest guest]

The evolution of diet By: Desmond Morris

 

*For those of us who are concerned about our diet, the 21st century is a

confusing time to live. Almost every day there is a new food fad in the

newspapers, usually contradicting the one we read about yesterday.*

 

If butter is bad today, it will be good tomorrow. If coffee is harmful

today, it will be beneficial tomorrow. If alcohol is damaging today, then a

glass of wine will be recommended tomorrow. And so on. So what are we to

believe? What should we be eating for a healthy human existence? To find the

answer, we have to turn the clock back to prehistoric times and examine the

way our species has evolved over the past few million years. Our remote

monkey ancestors thrived on a diet of seeds, roots, fruits, berries, nuts,

eggs and insects. When our earliest forebears came down from the trees and

began to walk on their hind legs, their front legs were freed from

locomotion and their hands became specialized as weapon-carriers. In this

new state they began to scavenge for meat and soon to hunt for themselves.

The better they became as hunters, the greater was the proportion of meat in

their diet. This protein boost had a major impact on their success and the

human species, as a cooperative hunter/ gatherer, was soon spreading out

across the planet and heading eventually for global domination.

 

As this happened, human nutritional requirements underwent certain changes.

Our physiology came to favour the special amino-acid balance found only in

meat. Proteins obtained from plants are usually deficient in at least some

of the eight amino-acids obtained from carnivorous food. So it became

possible for us to thrive on an omnivorous diet - one that included both

meat and vegetable food. This appears to have been a genetic change and not

merely a cultural one. This information upsets some vegans who claim that

their meat-free

diet is superior to a mixed, omnivorous one. The biological truth is that a

vegetarian diet is greatly inferior to a mixed, meat-and-veg one and it is

worth pointing out that, if vegetarians and vegans are avoiding meat because

of their concerns over animal welfare, this means that their sacrifice is

even greater than they admit. Not only do they give up the pleasures of

eating meat, but they are also prepared to stick to their principles despite

the fact that they are forcing themselves to accept a diet that is imperfect

for the digestive system of a human being. This does not weaken their moral

position: it makes it even stronger. The mixed meat and vegetable diet of

the hunter/gatherer tribes depended on success in the hunt. Inevitably this

was variable and the result was a feast-or-famine mode of existence. Then,

about ten thousand years ago, farming appeared, cereal crops were cultivated

and wild animals were penned and domesticated. This not only made the food

source more reliable, week by week, but it also resulted, for the first

time, in a food surplus and food storage.

 

The reliability of this agricultural system is with us still, in our modern

industrialized towns and cities. It means that, instead of swinging back and

forth between feast and famine, we have the chance to enjoy regular meals.

The backlash from this change is the risk of obesity. As hunter-gatherers we

developed the ability to lay down extra layers of fat beneath the skin - fat

that would see us through the periods of famine. Without such periods, our

modern citizens lay down fat but do not then use it up. Then they lay down

more fat and again do not use it up. The result is that in the more affluent

cultures there is a tendency to become overweight.

 

Among poorer countries another problem arises - the consumption of a diet

that favours cheap cereal foods over expensive meat foods. With the balance

between protein and carbohydrate upset, the Third World manages to struggle

on and breed successfully in large numbers, but without the nutritional

balance appropriate for the human species. In some cultures, where careful

studies have been made, it has been discovered that the meat content of the

diet has fallen from 70% to a mere 5% in the past ten thousand years. All

over the world, the poorer populations have come to rely more and more upon

the food products obtained from five basic cereal crops - maize, rice,

wheat, manioc and millet.

 

Humans are so resilient that they can survive this dramatic change, but it

is far from ideal, especially in the case of infants, children and pregnant

and lactating mothers. Human beings have simply not had the evolutionary

time to adapt to this major nutritional shift. And it is not just a surfeit

of non-meat foods that has caused us problems. In addition, mass production

of foodstuff has often tended to oversimplify our diets, removing or

drastically reducing the amount of trace-elements, minerals and vitamins

that we need for robust health. A simplified, cereal-dominated diet, so

widespread today, has created a serious health risk to the omnivore that is

the evolved human being. It should be obvious from all this that,

biologically speaking, the ideal diet for any human being is one that is as

varied as possible, with a rough balance between protein-rich meats and

carbohydrate-rich vegetables. If we are to learn from our ancient ancestors,

we should keep on trying varied foods as often as possible - new fruits,

different kinds of nuts, berries and roots as the seasons pass and different

meats, too - fish, shellfish, fowl and flesh in as many forms as we can

find. That is the safest way to avoid the nutritional deficiencies caused by

so many 'over-simplified' modern diets. We evolved as omnivores and 'omni'

means 'all'.

 

So, to return to the opening point: What are we to make of all the new food

fads we read about in the papers? It seems to me, as a biologist, that there

are three answers. First, ignore them all and eat as wide a variety of

foodstuffs as possible. That is our evolutionary, genetic heritage. Second,

if we wish to lose or gain weight, simply eat a little more or a little less

and take exercise - that's all there is to it! But when eating more or less,

ensure that the variety of foodstuffs consumed is maintained. Third, avoid

over-indulgence in any one particular kind of food or drink. Too much of any

one thing is unnatural and can be dangerous. A little sugar, a little

coffee, a little alcohol are beneficial. An excessive amount of any one

thing can kill.

 

Finally, it is important to banish all forms of anxiety from the food table.

High-stressed anxiety over obtaining a perfect diet does more harm than an

imperfect diet, which is eaten happily. 'A little of what you fancy does you

good' goes the old saying and there is a special reason why this is so.

Anxiety over matters of diet creates a tension in the body that lowers the

immune system and this in turn makes the individual more susceptible to

disease and ill-health. The highly-strung dieters, nibbling nervously at

some unpalatable so-called 'health food' are probably in such a stressed

condition that they are undoing all the good that their 'improved diet' is

supposed to bestow on them. Enjoying one's food is a good way of ensuring a

long life. A few years ago I was able to attend the 121st birthday party of

Madame Jean Calment - the oldest person who has ever lived. Right to the end

she enjoyed rich Mediterranean stews and cheap red wine. How do you manage

to keep so fit? I asked " It is because I am so calm, " she replied. " That is

why they call me Calment. "

 

So the next time you sit down to dine, don't agonise over it, try to calmly

enjoy it and, who knows, you too might live to be 121.

 

 

On 6/12/06, Dr John Wedderburn <jwed wrote:

>

> > Dear John,

> > I don't know if you know this, but Colin Blakemore has

> > apparently come out against animal testing for cosmetics.

> and so he should.

>

> > I now have my first

> > dog, a two month old Pug. He eats non vegetraian food, I am afraid. I do

> > believe that dogs and cats should be given non vegetarian food since

> they

> > are carnivores.

> When one says " I believe " , one usually means that one is making a

> statement

> without having researched the facts.

> Cats are obligate carnivores, dogs are omnivores. Both species can be fed

> a

> vegan diet provided they contain certain essential nutrient additives.

> Same

> as humans, we can be vegan healthily only if we add B12.

> Plenty of reading material here:

> http://www.aapn.org/vegetarianism.html - scroll nearly to the bottom to

> the

> section on Vegetarian Dogs and Cats. Follow as many links as you have time

> for!

> John.

>

>

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

aapn , " "

wrote:

>

> The evolution of diet By: Desmond Morris

 

The evolution of diet is interesting but we are not obligate carnivores.

When making our choice about diet the current situation of factory

farming is far more relevant than history and pre-history. I do not

understand how anyone who is genuinely concerned with animal welfare and

has seen footage of modern farming can still eat animals with a clear

conscience.

And thanks to modern scientific knowledge even cats are no longer

obligate carnivores - their nutritional needs can be met by adding the

essential nutrients from alternative sources.

John.