4 ms·

And the flip side of the coin. "How western diets are driving the next stage of evolution in humans"

by seanalltogether 16y ago

Andys 16y ago
Talk about taking the long view! While you're watching that I'll watch the rain making a new valley outside my window.
- seanalltogether 16y ago
  Hah! I've just become so cynical about these kinds of things that I assume genetic adaptation will solve this problem better then education will. We've been tampering big time with our food supply since the 90's and only a few people seem to care so far.
igrekel 16y ago
You mean that people able to resist or live longer under such a diet will survive and that we will evolve to support such a died? If so, you are probably wrong. It is not about survival it is about the ability to pass down genes. If the diet's problems appear later in life, it will not have a direct impact. It may have an indirect impact.
- beaumartinez 16y ago
  Actually, I think he means that the people who eat the Western diet will eventually die out.
OstiaAntica 16y ago
You jest but many Europeans have already evolved greater capacity to digest milk and alcohol than other races with less exposure.
- commanda 16y ago
  Or maybe Europeans consume milk and alcohol because they can easily digest it?
ams6110 16y ago
Starting to get off topic but I really don't think evolution is happening in humans anymore, at least in the first world. Sanitation, medicine, and surgery has advanced so far we've almost completely eliminated natural selection. In fact I'd be surprised if some "de-evolving" isn't happening.
dasil003 16y ago
You mean the inability to digest anything that hasn't been heavily machine processed to an extreme glycemic index? Granted, we required cooking of food to support the energy requirements of our large brains, but that's pretty much just a fire and a slab of meat. Is it really a good evolutionary path to depend on a whole industrial complex of food procesing machinery that is a big natural disaster away from being completely broken down?

And the flip side of the coin. "How western diets are driving the next stage of evolution in humans"

Andys 16y ago

Talk about taking the long view! While you're watching that I'll watch the rain making a new valley outside my window.

seanalltogether 16y ago
Hah! I've just become so cynical about these kinds of things that I assume genetic adaptation will solve this problem better then education will. We've been tampering big time with our food supply since the 90's and only a few people seem to care so far.

igrekel 16y ago

You mean that people able to resist or live longer under such a diet will survive and that we will evolve to support such a died? If so, you are probably wrong. It is not about survival it is about the ability to pass down genes. If the diet's problems appear later in life, it will not have a direct impact. It may have an indirect impact.

beaumartinez 16y ago
Actually, I think he means that the people who eat the Western diet will eventually die out.

OstiaAntica 16y ago

You jest but many Europeans have already evolved greater capacity to digest milk and alcohol than other races with less exposure.

commanda 16y ago
Or maybe Europeans consume milk and alcohol because they can easily digest it?

ams6110 16y ago

Starting to get off topic but I really don't think evolution is happening in humans anymore, at least in the first world. Sanitation, medicine, and surgery has advanced so far we've almost completely eliminated natural selection. In fact I'd be surprised if some "de-evolving" isn't happening.

dasil003 16y ago

You mean the inability to digest anything that hasn't been heavily machine processed to an extreme glycemic index? Granted, we required cooking of food to support the energy requirements of our large brains, but that's pretty much just a fire and a slab of meat. Is it really a good evolutionary path to depend on a whole industrial complex of food procesing machinery that is a big natural disaster away from being completely broken down?