> It especially doesn't explain the "if improperly prepared, will maim you over a long period of time" types of things (cassava!) Sure it does. All you need i

> It especially doesn't explain the "if improperly prepared, will maim you over a long period of time" types of things (cassava!) Sure it does. All you need is for the toxic foodstuff to be sufficiently non-toxic for some amount of time while it prevents you from dying because you don't have better food. Someone starving may know something isn't good but not have an alternative. Some people perform the standard steps up to step "n". A few people perform an extra step because they know the food is bad for you anyhow--this is step "n+1". If more of the "n+1" people survive, the standard becomes "n+1". Go through a dozen of such crises and you can get a lot of steps built up one at a time.