On Tue, 23 Jul 2002 15:57:23 +0900, Tom <[log in to unmask]> wrote:


> Small amounts of grains, eaten
>seasonally or occasionally wouldn't have caused disease in
>most people.

Even big amounts of grain, nearly beeing the main staple
didn't cause disease after people learned how to eat this stuff.
Grains didn't slow down the roman legions, it fueled them well.
(while their enemies - celts - germans -mediterranean people were similar
grain based societies).
I don't know where ever a pre-agricultural people had to fight "civilized"
people. Except australian and particularly tasmanian aboriginees.

>Our current problems are due to the
>omnipresence of grains,

I think that's the key. Did you notice that some main allergenes (wheat,
gluten, casein) are exactely such omnipresent proteins.
If a gut becomes permeable *any* protein present will cause hellfire action.

There's a different class of proteins like nuts and fish.
They seem to frequently cause severe allergies despite they are eaten
not very frequently.

>I read recently of actual villages that formed at sites
>where wild grains grow well. Archeologists speculate that
>the wild production was sufficient to support year-round
>occupancy.

Where are the people who claimed (on a theoretical basis of course) that
wild grains would be so inefficient and cumbersome to collect?

If you had such a wild growing area of wild grains the 0,5 to 1 ton of
grains per hectar are really much to life upon (today modern organic farming
gives 1,8 tons of spelt per ha, for example).
Plants just make as much own substance of all available sun energy.

What was missing to everyday use and made agriculture possible is in my
view the following:

1.year round storage of the grains (dry earth holes work well)
2.a omega 3 source to equal out the grain w-3 deficit
  (there were gazelle mass-killing buildings for this, there were green
herbs, and at last flax did the trick)
3.a source to equal out the one amino acit which limits protein quality of
  cereals to only 55% of eggs.
  Lentils (legumes) were the key
4.Knowledge how to eat this as a staple. Grinding soaking heating.
  This is basically old paleolithic (australian aboriginals can do this)

"Better" plants with bigger grains and less falling down were just a simple
logical follow-up after the important facts were cleared.

regards

Amadeus S.