9 ms·

Try living primitively, without technology, no stove, no refrigerator, no guns, no tractors, none of this stuff. What are you going to eat? Are you going to ea

by jhuni 15y ago

Try living primitively, without technology, no stove, no refrigerator, no guns, no tractors, none of this stuff. What are you going to eat? Are you going to eat meat? Just try to capture a wild animal with your bare hands and eat it raw, you will look ridiculous. This isn't a practical option without technology. And even if you manage to capture it somehow or scavenge one that is already dead, there are tons of bacteria and diseases that you can get from raw meat since humans don't have the hydrochloric acid that carnivores do. Are you going to eat diary? Of course not, it is totally unnatural to eat another animals milk. Legumes, beans, and grains although healthy, generally need to be cooked or otherwise prepared. They aren't edible raw. Similarly, many vegetables need to be cooked and they contain parts that are indigestible. Nuts often need to be cracked open. On the other hand, fruits are just there on the tree ready for picking they don't need any special preparation - it should be completely obvious that this is the food of primitive people - our ancestors.

samatman 15y ago
If by "technology" you are willing to overlook sharpened sticks and fire, then I'm thinking I'd be eating anything I could kill. That, and anything I could gather: nuts, roots, seeds, leaves and stems, anything that wouldn't in turn kill me. Oh, and delicious grubs!
- allwein 15y ago
  > I'm thinking I'd be eating anything I could kill. That, and anything I could gather Given that I just finished watching this video about how poor Haitians eat "dirt cookies", I'm inclined to agree with you. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3337cj4sJQ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3337cj4sJQ
icegreentea 15y ago
Regards to the whole hunting thing... give this a read: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persistence_hunting http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persistence_hunting It's entirely practical without technology (well, they need a pointy stick...).
- westicle 15y ago
  I feel like this example only reinforces the point parent is trying to make. Having watched the clip below, it seems like running for eight hours in the heat of the day with no guarantee of a meal at the end is a dangerously foolish way to live. The wasted time, energy and risk of injury or death pale in comparison to the sheer logistical problems if you do manage to make a kill. How does one exhausted hunter transport 300-400kg of meat without refrigeration back to his family 8 hours' run away? Looks like more of an extreme sport than a reliable method of finding food.
  - icegreentea 15y ago
    There are still bushmen in Africa who live by this. It's entirely possible to make this work. There was a BBC documentary on this (it's on youtube somewhere). They hunt in teams of 3-4, with one designated runner. Once they find their prey, the runner is the only one who actually does the long persistent run. The others follow at a slower pace.
Evgeny 15y ago
Are you going to eat meat? Just try to capture a wild animal with your bare hands and eat it raw, you will look ridiculous. This isn't a practical option without technology. There is evidence that humans started eating meat about 2-2.5 million years ago. There is a theory that the addition of nutrient and calorie dense animal foods provided the opportunity to develop large brains which require significant energy to run. http://www.paulcooijmans.com/evolution/eating_meat.html http://www.paulcooijmans.com/evolution/eating_meat.html There is also a theory that cooking was highly significant for human development, because otherwise about 5 kg of raw food would be required daily to survive, which pretty much does not leave any free time for anything but gathering and chewing. Fire was discovered at least 300,000 years ago. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8543906.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8543906.stm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catching_Fire:_How_Cooking_Made_Us_Human http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catching_Fire:_How_Cooking_Made...
- jhuni 15y ago
  probably by picking up small crawling animals and scavenging Emphasis on the word scavenging. There is no question that ancient hominids scavenged when they were starving. However, this obviously couldn't be a significant part of their diet because there are so many diseases that can transfer from one animal to another. And if meat was a significant part of our diets, cholesterol and atherosclerosis wouldn't be problems like they are now. Fire was discovered at least 300,000 years ago. There is no question that humans developed the technology of cooking, farming, and hunting to overcome their natural weaknesses, however, that did not significantly effect our evolution. Evolution occurs because of small, infrequent, random mutations in the genetic material. In order for our digestive system to evolve there must be some "selective mechanism" that operates to select beneficial changes, however, there was no such selective mechanism operating at that point because the users faulty diet would not kill its user before reproductive age. For example, people that eat the unhealthiest of diets - that have underage diabetes and obesity can still live to reproductive age. Their diet isn't healthy it is just "healthy enough."
  - ac2u 15y ago
    "And if meat was a significant part of our diets, cholesterol and atherosclerosis wouldn't be problems like they are now." You're basing your argument on the assumption that cholesterol problems are caused by intake ofsaturated fat and jumping to a conclusion based on that assumption. The assumption you're making is being pitted against a growing amount of evidence that cholesterol problems are caused by modern over-consumption of carbohydrates. The most basic form of evidence for this argument is that 75% of our cholesterol is manufactured by our own body as opposed to being caused by dietary intake.
natrius 15y ago
Justifying your assumptions with wild conjecture is bizarre when the topic in question is so googleable.
ac2u 15y ago
"it should be completely obvious that this is the food of primitive people - our ancestors" Citations please. There are people that claim the opposite of you saying that fruit was rarely a staple and merely a seasonal food. There's also some who assert that fruit today is grown solely to yield sweetness and not nutritional content.
davidmathers 15y ago
Are you going to eat meat? Just try to capture a wild animal with your bare hands and eat it raw, you will look ridiculous. This isn't a practical option without technology. Watch and learn: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wI-9RJi0Qo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wI-9RJi0Qo
- jhuni 15y ago
  I don't know about you but I think I would rather pick fruit then spend eight hours in the hot sun hunting... I also would rather eat fruits then the dead animal. Fruits are absolutely delicious to anyone whose taste buds aren't maladapted, and dead animals stink, are hard to eat uncooked, and carry diseases/bacteria. Carnivores have 10 times the hydrochloric acid of humans so they can eat meat without worrying about pathogens such as E. Coli, Shigella, Samonella, Campylobacter, Toxoplasmosis, and Trichina Worms.
  - burgerbrain 15y ago
    Your preference in food has pretty much nothing to do with the fact that our ancestors most certainly hunted food. Hell, even chimps hunt.
    - jhuni 15y ago
      our ancestors ate mostly hunted food Actually, most archeologists and paleoanthropologists are beginning to accept that most meat was SCAVENGED, not hunted, as I mentioned earlier. It is through scavenging that humans became "omnivores" capable of eating meat in the first place, but we certainly didn't become carnivores that should eat meat as any significant part of their diet. http://www.mesacc.edu/dept/d10/asb/origins/hominid_journey/scavenging.html http://www.mesacc.edu/dept/d10/asb/origins/hominid_journey/s... Your preference in food Trichinellosis, Bovine spongiform encephalopathy, Listeria, E. Coli, and Trichina worms will effect anyone, so my "preference in food" is based upon characteristics present in all humans. As for the taste, fruits taste the best raw/uncooked for everyone with natural taste-buds. My taste-buds aren't abnormal.
harold 15y ago
Humans have been trapping animals for food for a very long time. For example, the "promontory peg" deadfall is a simple trigger based trap that can easily be made with stone tools. No guns, arrows, spears or bare hands required. http://www.nps.gov/archive/gosp/research/prom_peg.htm http://www.nps.gov/archive/gosp/research/prom_peg.htm

by jhuni 15y ago

samatman 15y ago

If by "technology" you are willing to overlook sharpened sticks and fire, then I'm thinking I'd be eating anything I could kill. That, and anything I could gather: nuts, roots, seeds, leaves and stems, anything that wouldn't in turn kill me. Oh, and delicious grubs!

allwein 15y ago
> I'm thinking I'd be eating anything I could kill. That, and anything I could gather Given that I just finished watching this video about how poor Haitians eat "dirt cookies", I'm inclined to agree with you. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3337cj4sJQ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3337cj4sJQ

icegreentea 15y ago

Regards to the whole hunting thing... give this a read: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persistence_hunting http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persistence_hunting It's entirely practical without technology (well, they need a pointy stick...).

westicle 15y ago
I feel like this example only reinforces the point parent is trying to make. Having watched the clip below, it seems like running for eight hours in the heat of the day with no guarantee of a meal at the end is a dangerously foolish way to live. The wasted time, energy and risk of injury or death pale in comparison to the sheer logistical problems if you do manage to make a kill. How does one exhausted hunter transport 300-400kg of meat without refrigeration back to his family 8 hours' run away? Looks like more of an extreme sport than a reliable method of finding food.
- icegreentea 15y ago
  There are still bushmen in Africa who live by this. It's entirely possible to make this work. There was a BBC documentary on this (it's on youtube somewhere). They hunt in teams of 3-4, with one designated runner. Once they find their prey, the runner is the only one who actually does the long persistent run. The others follow at a slower pace.

Evgeny 15y ago

Are you going to eat meat? Just try to capture a wild animal with your bare hands and eat it raw, you will look ridiculous. This isn't a practical option without technology. There is evidence that humans started eating meat about 2-2.5 million years ago. There is a theory that the addition of nutrient and calorie dense animal foods provided the opportunity to develop large brains which require significant energy to run. http://www.paulcooijmans.com/evolution/eating_meat.html http://www.paulcooijmans.com/evolution/eating_meat.html There is also a theory that cooking was highly significant for human development, because otherwise about 5 kg of raw food would be required daily to survive, which pretty much does not leave any free time for anything but gathering and chewing. Fire was discovered at least 300,000 years ago. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8543906.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8543906.stm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catching_Fire:_How_Cooking_Made_Us_Human http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catching_Fire:_How_Cooking_Made...

jhuni 15y ago
probably by picking up small crawling animals and scavenging Emphasis on the word scavenging. There is no question that ancient hominids scavenged when they were starving. However, this obviously couldn't be a significant part of their diet because there are so many diseases that can transfer from one animal to another. And if meat was a significant part of our diets, cholesterol and atherosclerosis wouldn't be problems like they are now. Fire was discovered at least 300,000 years ago. There is no question that humans developed the technology of cooking, farming, and hunting to overcome their natural weaknesses, however, that did not significantly effect our evolution. Evolution occurs because of small, infrequent, random mutations in the genetic material. In order for our digestive system to evolve there must be some "selective mechanism" that operates to select beneficial changes, however, there was no such selective mechanism operating at that point because the users faulty diet would not kill its user before reproductive age. For example, people that eat the unhealthiest of diets - that have underage diabetes and obesity can still live to reproductive age. Their diet isn't healthy it is just "healthy enough."
- ac2u 15y ago
  "And if meat was a significant part of our diets, cholesterol and atherosclerosis wouldn't be problems like they are now." You're basing your argument on the assumption that cholesterol problems are caused by intake ofsaturated fat and jumping to a conclusion based on that assumption. The assumption you're making is being pitted against a growing amount of evidence that cholesterol problems are caused by modern over-consumption of carbohydrates. The most basic form of evidence for this argument is that 75% of our cholesterol is manufactured by our own body as opposed to being caused by dietary intake.

natrius 15y ago

Justifying your assumptions with wild conjecture is bizarre when the topic in question is so googleable.

ac2u 15y ago

"it should be completely obvious that this is the food of primitive people - our ancestors" Citations please. There are people that claim the opposite of you saying that fruit was rarely a staple and merely a seasonal food. There's also some who assert that fruit today is grown solely to yield sweetness and not nutritional content.

davidmathers 15y ago

Are you going to eat meat? Just try to capture a wild animal with your bare hands and eat it raw, you will look ridiculous. This isn't a practical option without technology. Watch and learn: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wI-9RJi0Qo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wI-9RJi0Qo

jhuni 15y ago
I don't know about you but I think I would rather pick fruit then spend eight hours in the hot sun hunting... I also would rather eat fruits then the dead animal. Fruits are absolutely delicious to anyone whose taste buds aren't maladapted, and dead animals stink, are hard to eat uncooked, and carry diseases/bacteria. Carnivores have 10 times the hydrochloric acid of humans so they can eat meat without worrying about pathogens such as E. Coli, Shigella, Samonella, Campylobacter, Toxoplasmosis, and Trichina Worms.
- burgerbrain 15y ago
  Your preference in food has pretty much nothing to do with the fact that our ancestors most certainly hunted food. Hell, even chimps hunt.
  - jhuni 15y ago
    our ancestors ate mostly hunted food Actually, most archeologists and paleoanthropologists are beginning to accept that most meat was SCAVENGED, not hunted, as I mentioned earlier. It is through scavenging that humans became "omnivores" capable of eating meat in the first place, but we certainly didn't become carnivores that should eat meat as any significant part of their diet. http://www.mesacc.edu/dept/d10/asb/origins/hominid_journey/scavenging.html http://www.mesacc.edu/dept/d10/asb/origins/hominid_journey/s... Your preference in food Trichinellosis, Bovine spongiform encephalopathy, Listeria, E. Coli, and Trichina worms will effect anyone, so my "preference in food" is based upon characteristics present in all humans. As for the taste, fruits taste the best raw/uncooked for everyone with natural taste-buds. My taste-buds aren't abnormal.

harold 15y ago

Humans have been trapping animals for food for a very long time. For example, the "promontory peg" deadfall is a simple trigger based trap that can easily be made with stone tools. No guns, arrows, spears or bare hands required. http://www.nps.gov/archive/gosp/research/prom_peg.htm http://www.nps.gov/archive/gosp/research/prom_peg.htm