On Tue, 22 Sep 1998 09:59:40 -0400, Todd Moody <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>I think the other part of Ray's answer is that there are few, if
>any, places in the world where the vegetation could keep a
>vegetarian alive *year-round*.
Oh, yes.
But it is a rather small the place on the earth
where our genes have formed.
(and spread therefrom as the successfull Cro Magnon human).
And there - in Africa - was a tropical rainforest for many millions
of years, our anchestors were fruitarians (with little insects),
and vegetarian nutrition *is* possible there year-round,
as gorillas show.

What happened later in the galery-woods and savanne
(the 2 most recent million years' area) F

I think we should look a little better at some expert data,
maybe at some present non-agricultural groups which live at that place,
before we decide or assume  what our anchestors might have done.

>If this is correct, it entails
>that actual paleolithic people were *never* vegetarians.  And if
>that is true, the vegetarianism would have to be seens as a
>dietary innovation.
Yes, this might also be the case (especially when kicking
out the last few percent of animals that fruitarians eat).

Since vegetarianism involves only *leaving away* some certain foods,
i can't see a problem with it.
Or someone has to show why exactely this or that components
of meat *have* to be included.

Certainly most of us leave out mgongo nuts, hippos, worms and bugs
(i mean african species resp insects and worms)
in the diet although they have been in the food a really long time.

Jus
t annother leaving out of food items.
Who can say that the worms and bugs weren't the most important animals?

>Todd Moody

Amadeus Schmidt