On Fri, 22 Feb 2002 09:12:53 -0500 Fawn Bales <[log in to unmask]>
writes:
> goofy humans would attempt to eat something they saw their prey
> eating out of desperation or curiousity.  Humans have a long history of

> trying to eat all kinds of interesting things - flowers, grains, stuff
> dredged out of ponds, etc. : )   Beats me how we ever even thought of
eating
> lobsters.

Ardeith writes:
I don't know about the nutrition found in flowers, but I do
know the flowers and leaves of most of the "weeds" found
in my yard are safe to eat.  And isn't it ironic, the toxics
in my yard are things I planted....elephant ear, lantana,
angel trumpet.   A 'weed'....one of the Betonys....forms
little tubers that look like little grubs, but taste like raw
peanuts.

I've pulled grass stems and nibbled the tender bit on the
end and found it tastes sweet.  Green grass seed heads
are soft enough to chew, and also taste sweetish.  Ripe
grass seed heads are hard, like ripened wheat.

We get so hung up in the debates over eating meat and
the nutritive values of meat, that we seem to forget our
ancestors were omnivores....they ate *everything* they
could.    We also seem to forget that our ancestors didn't
bring home fresh elephant steaks on an everyday basis.
It's nice when it happens, but the rest of the time our
ancestors ate whatever they could lay hands upon.

Yeah, humans will try eating anything they see other
animals eating.......this is probably how we learned
about sesame seed, flax seed, poppy seed, oats,
rye, barley, corn, and even wheat.............

We also seem to forget that our ancestors had controlled
use of fire 'way back in our history.....40 or 50 thousand
years, at least......way before we started farming, when
we were still hunter/gatherers.  We will never know when
our ancestors discovered how to heat water over a fire in
a skin bag......but once they learned that one, all sorts of
things became possible.  Everything could go in a hide
pot....snails, grubs, seedheads, tubers, greens, small game
animals, even flowers.   And every mother knows you
can fill up more hungry children with such a stew than
if you had to give each child his/her own bird/rabbit/whatever.

Yeah, humans can, and did, survive on raw meat and plant
foods.....but IMO the odds of a clan's survival went up
when they learned to use fire and a hide pot......even grass
seed heads became nutrition for our kind.

As for lobster, if you find one left behind in a tidal pool,
and can lay hands on the thing, you can eat it raw.....
just as you can eat most any seafood raw.....but it
helps to have a fire you can lay your clams in.....they
will pop open just like steamed oysters.....and you can
enjoy them without having to pick out bits of shell as
you do if you bash them open...........and this leaves
the clam shell whole to be used for scoops and bowls
and such.  And I would imagine that even pond scum
has some degree of nutrition..............

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Walk The Path With Practical Feet!

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