At 8:16 -0500 6/10/02, Keith Thomas wrote:

>What I'd really like to know is what the fat profile and content was of
>the animals consumed by our paleolithic ancestors in the late
>Pleistocene.  Seems to me there are four classes of beef (and I'd like to
>confine the discussion to beef, so we are comparing like with like):

Sorry Keith, I missed reading this post. It's a very interesting
project you propose. Since I have already addressed many of the issues
you raise, I shall limit myself to an overall comment.

I believe your results may be severely distorted as a result of
restricting analysis to beef. "Beef" as we know it has been artificially
created through selective breeding over centuries. These modern breeds
are designed to mature rapidly and store fat at a prodigious rate.

Even "lean", utility grade beef (typically used for beef stock or
canning) consists of protein to fat in a 3:2 ratio. My recent research
suggests that wild ruminants tend more towards a 7:2 ratio. Much more
protein, much less fat.

Thus, I do not believe that even a lean Australian free-range steer
will demonstrate paleolithic fat profiles.

Perhaps your analysis while being much larger in scope would result in
a more balanced appraisal if a wider variety of livestock were considered.

 ...Richard.