Jim Swayze wrote:

> One issue that I've not seen discussed is the idea of whether and to what degree
> the paleo diet would be sustainable if all the people on this planet decided to
> follow it.  

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I  think that we are stuck with agriculture  -  but agriculture comes in many forms.
In my country Denmark (which is densely populated)  there is about 4000 square meters
of arable land pr person.    Can you live "paleolike" off  4000square meters (fertile) land?
Surely not as a hunter-gatherer.  As a vegetarian - easily !  ( potatoes yield several kg /m2).

So the real question is  how  far coulld we push agriculture towards "paleolikeness" ?

I  guess that some animals are more "effictive" than others  for producing meat.  
probably grass-eating animals (sheep, cattle, goats etc) are better than grain-eaters (pigs)
I have read somewhere that  pigs are almost  impossible to fit into organic agriculture.
The grass-eaters fit nicely, because they can eat the  legumes (clover) that are needed
for nitrogen fixation  (the "natural" substitute for chemical nitrogen fertilizer).

Then there is fishing   -  true paleofood, but heavily (over-) exploited today
A major !  part of todays  fish catches are used for feeding animals !
Part of the fishcatches in (Europe) are thrown overboard because it  pays better 
that way  (European Union legislation  causes this perverse situation)

Surely  the  fish resourses  could be  utilized more efficient in term of human nutrition 
- this is not a technical problem , but a political one  (not to say it is easy :-)

Insects :   I  read somewhere that termites are a potential big food resource. 

Finally there is the question of    "all the people on the planet"   -  
Today "all the people on the planet"   are not even sufficiently nourished ("paleo" or any other way)
This in my opinion is also not a "technical" problem  - but  a political / ethical /religious  ....? one
People starve not because of  shortage of food , but of money !
(An example of this is that  during the Irish  "Potato Famine" ,  food was exported from Ireland !)

Conclusion:   
All the people on the planet could  (technically)  easily  be nourished on  a vegetarian diet  (even organic). 
A traditional hunter-gattherer lifestyle could support only a fraction of todays population.  Agriculture is needed!
Agriculture could be made organic, and more "paleolike"  - the question is:  how far could we go ?
Fishery could be optimized for human nourishment - thereby contributing substantially,



Esben