On Mon, 16 Sep 2002, Maddy Mason wrote:

> Suckling animals would have probably only been around in the Spring, and
> given the fierceness and caution most animals use in protecting their young,
> they may not have been a very frequent source of food. The milk in the mother
> is produced "on demand" by the suckling of the baby, so I don't think much
> milk could have been gotten from killing the mother.

I imagine this varies according to species and location.  The
length of time during which mammals suckle is not constant across
species.  It's true that animals try hard to protect their young,
but also true that predators favor them as targets, precisely
because they are difficult to protect.  The old are also favored
targets.  I think Steven Craig discussed this in _The Hunting
Apes_.

> Next down the list we find allergies to seasonal foods such as certain tree
> nuts, eggs, strawberries, citrus fruits, shellfish, (nowadays many of these
> are farmed) peppers, tomatoes, etc.

That's a good point, and it underscores the fact that even though
a food is "paleo" it may still cause problems for some.

Are shellfish seasonal?  I seem to recall some hardy souls back
in Rhode Island "bullraking" clams in the dead of winter.

> The least allergenic foods are fresh meats, because (I believe) this is the
> type of food that would have been most readily available all year-round
> during Paleo times.

It would depend on the specific meats.  Some animals migrate and
are not present to be hunted year-round.  But as a general thing
I think this shows that "edibility" does not imply that a food is
harmless to everyone.


Todd Moody
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