Todd Moody writes:

>Perhaps the key here is the more *occasions* of exposure to the
>protein per year, the greater the selection pressure.  But note
>that this also counts against, say, apples, which are only
>available in the wild for a few weeks in the fall.


I realize that small amounts of proteins or allergens can cause big
reactions, but isn't it generally true that more foreign material means more
immune response means more selective pressure? This would mean that quantity
is relevant  with respect to the individual occasion as well.  It's
difficult to bring apples and grain into comparison, but for the sake of our
discussion I would say that, hypothetically, apples are a more likely choice
given that they existed in amounts similar to grain.  I stand by my
assertion that in light of the optimal foraging theory, grains look like a
looser.


>I think the theory is too simplistic in that it ignores the
>division of labor possible in a simple human society.  Children
>who are too young to hunt, for example, can gather seeds and
>grains.  During the brief period when grains can be harvested, it
>is not such a chore.  If I think of it I'll try to dig up the
>post on the Paleodiet list where the caloric yield for
>hand-gathered ripe grain was calculated.  If I remember right,
>the yield in dry weight was on the order of kilograms per hour,
>which isn't bad.

I think that children would have access to easier forage than grains, so I'm
interrested in checking out that posting (you don't need do go dig it up...
I sort of remember that one so I can find it later).  Specifically, I'd like
to find out what they mean by "hand-gathered."  If this means not only 'in
the absence of machinery' but in the absence of primmitive agricultural
technology (nothing more than can be found in pre agr. remains or within the
range of possibility thereof), than you will have convinced me that small
amounts of grain might have been regular seasonal fare.  However, there's
also the fact that the grass species that were feasable as wild food sources
were common only in limmited areas like the near east.

For the record:  I'm not saying that grains were never consumed, just as I
don't propose that rennet cheese was never consumed.  I simply believe that
these foods present health hazards to many people in the modern world
because of their relative scarcity (in the diet) durring pre-agricultural
times.

B. Lischer