On Saturday, January 10, 2004, at 04:34  PM, Amadeus Schmidt wrote:

> Yesterday I ate very nice perfect raw green peas.
> Peanuts are also a legume edible just raw.
> Many others are edible raw - a little soaked or sprouted.
> And this *is* stone age technology.
> As is usage of fire (secured at 400,000 y.ago, some estimates go as
> far as
> 2,000,000 y back).

Yes a lot of legumes are edible raw, especially in the very young
stage, or such as peas that have been bred for human consumption. But
most legumes, including many that we usually eat cooked like soybeans,
are poisonous, mildly or very seriously. It is a simple general rule,
useful, but as you say there are exceptions. Personally, since I got
acid reflux last summer I can't eat peanuts at all without pain, so
even though I love them and ate them as "paleo", now I don't eat them
any more.