From http://www.unu.edu/unupress/food/8F173e/8F173E06.htm,
the abstract reads:

...it is proposed that the
essential amino acid lysine may be relatively lacking in
many areas of the world where diets heavily based on cereals
are consumed.

...the poorest countries, with a combined population
of nearly 3,000 million, have the highest proportion of
their protein originating from plant sources.

These are also the countries with the lowest life expectancy
and the highest mortality rate among children under five
years of age. Rich countries, in contrast, obtain much of
their protein from animal sources. Such different dietary
patterns of the rich and the poor lead to very different
daily availabilities of lysine. Although large differences
also exist for all other essential amino acids, the
difference is considered to be nutritionally significant
only for lysine.

---------
Seems to fit with the Paleo observation that grain-based,
vegetarian cultures are the sickest, poorest and shortest-
lived on Earth. All this and overpopulation, courtesy of
widespread dependence on agriculture.

A quick check of the USDA database confirms that meat
has 4-7 times the lysine content of most staple grains
and unprocessed legumes (i.e. no tofu or soya isolate).

Lysine per 100 g. edible portion:

Turkey, young hen, meat only, raw g 2.051
Game meat, moose, raw g 2.018
Game meat, bison, raw g 1.686
Buckwheat Lysine  g 0.672
Lentils, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, without salt g 0.630
Chickpeas (garbanzo beans, bengal gram), mature seeds,
cooked, boiled, without salt g 0.593
Wheat flour, whole-grain g 0.378
Bread, whole-wheat, commercially prepared g 0.302
Tortillas, ready-to-bake or -fry, flour g 0.213
Tortillas, ready-to-bake or -fry, corn g 0.163
Couscous, cooked g 0.073
Taro, raw g 0.067
Cassava, raw g 0.044
Breadfruit, raw g 0.037
Nuts, macadamia nuts, dry roasted, with salt added g 0.018

Interesting that macadamias, tho fun to eat, are nothing to live on.


BTW it's fairly well hypothesized, tho by no means "proven",
that low lysine and low ascorbate ("vit. C") are directly
implicated in occlusive heart disease. A diet rich in
meat and fresh fruit/veg (like Paleo) is probably good
for the prevention and even treatment of arteries clogged
with lipoprotein (a) deposits.

The "official" recommendation for lysine is 30 mg/kg/day,
(from http://www.unu.edu/unupress/food/8F173e/8F173E05.htm)
or about 2 grams/day for a 150 lb/ 67 kg adult. I suspect
that this, like most minima issued by governments, is
rather low. If it's like the useless USFDA ascorbate spec
(65 mg./day) then it is very low indeed.

The Pauling-Rath hypothesis specs maybe 1-3 g. each
dietary lysine & ascorbate for just for the prevention
of heart disease, maybe double that for a gradual cure.