old_man said:
Thats not food.....thats what food eats :jester:
Studies of hunter/gatherers (everybody's ancestors at some time) show that, except in extreme environments like the arctic, hunting brings in about 20% of the total calories that the group consumes ('hunting' may be fishing or whatever it is the men do to bring home protein). The other 80% of the calories are provided by the women and children out gathering. Granted, some of what they are gathering is animal: eggs, reptiles, small mammals, birds, insects - even fish, if that's not taboo for the women. The gathered proteins account for perhaps another 10% of the groups total caloric intake. The remaining 70% is plant materials.
Considering that we are not chimpanzees, who get around 80% of their calories from fruit pulp, and we're not gorillas, who get most of their calories from mature leaves and stems, what plant materials would our ancestors have eaten? Why not concentrate on fruit, like the chimpanzee? Probably because you'd have to have stayed in the trees to make that work. Plus, you would be restricted to tropical forests where fruits are available year 'round. Why not mature leaves and stems, like the gorilla? Well, look at the gorilla. The teeth and musculature required are huge. And look at the gut you'd need. Sure, you can get big browsing on leaves, but like any browser, the gorilla spends 80-90% of its waking hours eating. That doesn't leave much time for civilization, and you'd still be restricted to climates where fresh leaves are available all year. So, not just meat, not just fruit, and not mature leaves and stems. But with a few tools to gain access to roots, bulbs and tubers you can put together a menu that will serve in almost any climate around the world.
20-30% animal: mammal, bird, reptile, fish, insect - even arachnid. Almost anything that moves. Hunted and/or gathered.
50-60% plant: By bulk, the most common plant material available through the growing season is, not mature but immature leaves, stems and shoots. We can't eat bamboo leaves, but we can eat bamboo shoots. We can eat the young leaves of almost anything that isn't poisonous. We can eat the young stems of any number of plants. In the off season, bulbs, roots and tubers store the energy for the next growing season. They are always available with a little digging. If the ground where you live freezes, then you have to harvest just before the freeze, but the bulbs and roots and tubers will last in storage all winter. Even today, just walk along the produce counter. Look at the number of items that are either leaves, stems, shoots, bulbs, roots or tubers. The vast majority of counter space is taken up by leaves, stems, shoots, bulbs, roots and tubers.
20% fruits and seeds. Of course, today we eat a lot of grass seed. Wheat, rice, oats, barley, maize, ets. are all grass seed. However, until very late in time our ancestors didn't bother. Probably about 10,000 years ago they started boiling seeds. As an energy source they're great. Collect enough and they will last you through the winter. Accidentally drop some at camp and you don't even have to go anywhere to collect it. So, civilization was built on cultivated grass seed.
At the same time, they probably started boiling legumes. Or, rather they probably started boiling legumes and then extended the practice to grass seeds. Why legumes first? Because they would have been eating immature legume pods (e.g., green beans) anyway. But, what do you do with the beans once the pods have become too matured to eat? If you find soaking them makes them softer, and boiling them makes them digestible, then extending boiling to grass seeds is not that big a step.
Looking back before civilization, fruits and seeds were not that big a deal. There's plenty of vitamin C in green leaves, if you eat enough of them. Immature leaves, stems and shoots are produced throughout the growing season, but fruits and seeds are seasonal. You have to live somewhere like the tropics that supports continuous fruiting, or you have to wait months for them. Certainly, fruits and seeds were important to the diet of our ancestors, but not the extreme that cereals are in our diet, today. However, it was important that seasonal items be given the full attention of the group when they came in season. It's interesting to note that it is almost universally taboo for women to involve themselves with the men's hunting, but when it comes time to gather a seasonal item like a particular fruit or seed, the men will always forgo hunting to help gather. Everyday stuff (leaves, eggs, bugs, etc) the women and children handle on their own, but when a fruit or seed (or nut - don't forget nuts) come in season, the entire group joins together to make sure they get as much as possible. Why is it that the women are prevented from helping on the hunt, but the men will always help gather? Because, for the survival of the group, you cannot affort to cut into the time the women and children spend gathering. On the other hand, it is vitally important that key elements for winter survival are collected when the time comes. In the end, gathering is more important than hunting.
So, short version: Leaves (lettuce, kale, spinach, etc.), stems (celery, leaks, rhubarb, etc.), shoots (almost any immature shoot or sprout that is not poisonous), pods (peas, snap beans, and any number of pods that don't make it to the supermarket anymore), roots (carrots, parsnips, radish, etc.), bulbs (onions, etc.), animal, and finally, tubers (potato, sweet potato, etc.), fruits, seeds and nuts. The bulbs, roots, tubers, seeds and nuts, with preserved (usually jerked) animal will see you through the winter. The growing season is supported by leaves, stems, shoots/sprouts, pods, and animals.
Oh, and beyond about 2 years of age our hunter/gatherer ancestors had no access to anything dairy.
