The biggest problem is that, healthy or not, I venture
to guess that everyone on this list, and the vast
majority of the world's (over)population, is part of
an agricultural society. We might choose to eat foods
that resemble those that paleo people ate, but they
aren't paleo foods, not really. Someone, somewhere,
grew or raised them (anyone who truly does hunt/gather
every morsel of food, I apologize). So a large
percentage of our food choices are academic.
We have neolithic family structures, generally have
one residence instead of being nomadic, reproduce
quickly (without birth control). We thrive on the
fruits of agrarian society, even though we shun some
very few elements of it. If, tomorrow, the
agricultural system was destroyed, we would all
starve, yes, even the enlightened paleo eaters. Our
planet cannot sustain the population that it has
without agriculture. And agriculture is destroying it.
Do I wish the masses would buy all the "bad food" and
leave the good stuff for me? Not really - it would be
great if everyone would finally realize that white
flour & sugar are killing them and stop it. It would
also be great if flour weren't on sale for .59/5lb
this week, once again reopening the wound of my inner
angst and struggle over this way of eating. I wish
people would realize that corn is killing them & quit
eating it. Corn is the ultimate antithesis of paleo
principles - did you know that it absolutely literally
cannot reproduce & reseed without human aid? But if
corn production ceased tomorrow, what would our
precious animals eat (and what would we make glue out
of, or plastic, or medicine, ad nauseum)? The fields
that corn is grown on would have to lie fallow for up
to 12 years in order to have enough nutrients to grow
so much as a blade of grass, if they ever recovered
from the herbicides & pesticides that continue to be
pumped into them.
People would have to die. That is a stark statement,
and it takes a harsh academic mind to consider that
that might not be such a bad thing. In my secret
heart, I listen to every report of an earthquake, or
mudslide, or hurricane killing people with the sure
knowledge that the earth is "angry", that people are
dying because we have too many mouths to feed, even if
starvation isn't the direct cause. But at the same
time, if it was my family dying, I wouldn't be able to
be quite as callous about it. I'm not sure anyone
could.
What it boils down to is this. Paleo eaters have the
luxury to choose to eat "paleo" ***only*** because
their numbers are few.
Jen in NC
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