Hi Phil, 
Thank you very much for your thoughtful, detailed commentary.   

> 
> Ron wrote: "I believe [Cordain] is on the right track, I 
> think he has stopped short of optimal levels of fat in the 
> most healthful diet, as I believe that the evidence from HG 
> eating habits suggests a much higher ratio of fats than Dr. 
> Cordain advocates," pointing to the Inuit and Plains Indians 
> as examples. They clearly do show that one can live 
> healthfully on a diet high in meats and organs. However, the 
> Plains Indians did reportedly eat some berries, corn and 
> other non-animal foods, and even many of the Inuit supposedly 
> did eat some plant foods.

On the plains, the berries would be available from late spring until late
fall, and were certainly eaten by the indigenous people who lived there.
However, I thought that corn cultivation was limited to the Eastern US and
Mexico. Perhaps I'm wrong. If so, I'd appreciate some sources to the
contrary. 

As for the Inuit, such foods would only be available, at most, for about 10
to 12 weeks in most places they lived. Thus, their diets would be dominated
by meats throughout the year, and they would exclusively eat meats for ~40
weeks of the year.  

> 
> According to Sally Fallon and Mary Enig, the traditional diet 
> of the Blackfoot people of Canada included "pemmican made 
> with berries" and "blood soup, made from a mixture of blood 
> and corn flour cooked in broth, was used as a sacred meal 
> during the nighttime Holy Smoke ceremonies." (Guts and
> Grease: The Diet of Native Americans, by Sally Fallon and 
> Mary G. Enig, PhD)

I  would be very surprised to learn that corn was grown as far north as
Canada prior to the arrival of Europeans. Small amounts might have been
acquired through trade, but I would expect these to have a negligible impact
on their general eating habits and health. 

> 
> 
> According to H. M. Sinclair of the University of Oxford, some 
> Inuit ate other foods during the summer beyond meats and 
> organs, such as black crowberry, dwarf blueberry, cloudberry, 
> certain roots (such as Polygonurn viviparurn), the stalk of 
> Angelica archangelica, some algae, the buds and young leaves 
> of the dwarf willow, and some other leaves (such as 
> Cochlearia ofJicinalis, Oxyria digyna and Epilobium 
> latifoliurn). (The Diet of Canadian Indians and Eskimos, by 
> H. M. Sinclair, Laboratory of Human Nutrition, University of 
> Oxford, Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, Volume 12, 
> Number 1, 1953, pp. 69-82,
> http://journals.cambridge.org/download.php?file=%2FPNS%2FPNS12
> _01%2FS0029665
> 153000188a.pdf&code=0ef8a1b3a5345f61e332fec41a70bb64) 

Again, consumption of these foods would be limited to the very short summer
experienced by the Inuit. 

> 
> More importantly, hunter gatherers diets are not limited to 
> those of the Inuit and Plains Indians, and they span a wide 
> range of fat proportions by calories, from 23 percent up to 
> 58 percent, based on data in the Ethnographic Atlas. 

If memory serves, Cordain himself pointed out several of the great
weaknesses of the Ethnographic Atlas. For instance, he asserted that the
authors had classed sea food and fish as vegetables rather than meat. 

> Even 
> within a HG group there was variation-with some Inuit 
> specializing in hunting seal and others specializing in 
> salmon and eating more summer plant foods--depending on where 
> they lived.

I agree that there was considerable variation. The people I was referring to
provide excellent examples of high fat consumption among healthy HG groups. 

Like you, I believe that Loren Cordain has blazed a very important trail and
we should be grateful for his willingness to publish his ideas even though
they fall outside conventional wisdom in this area. He is soundly criticized
by conventional thinkers such as Marion Nestle, who enjoys considerable
prestige as an "expert" in the field of nutrition and who continues to tout
the USDA's Healthy Eating Guide. Cordain is also criticized by much of the
medical profession. 

Unfortunately, publication of new ideas draws considerable emotional
reaction. The very first email I received after the publication of Dangerous
Grains was from a lady with lupus. She was furious that Jonathan Wright had
asserted that a gluten-free diet could reverse lupus in the foreword of
Dangerous Grains. She was even more incensed when I indicated that while I
had not written that part of the book, I agreed with Wright's assertion. 

I have also heard from a number of individuals who were deeply offended by
my attacks on the Canada Food Guide and the USDA's healthy eating guide.
Some of the emails might have blistered my eyes if I were bothered by
reading profanity. :-) 

Relatedly, I gave a talk at the Foothills Hospital in Calgary ( ~2001 or
2002) and had a highly regarded, registered dietitian sniggering at various
times throughout my presentation. She actually laughed out loud when I
stated that government sponsored healthy eating guides in the US and Canada
are unscientific. 

Cordain could have chosen to be comfortable. However, he chose to publish
controversial ideas. He is a very smart man and I'm sure he realized that he
would incite some reaction. Thus, although I agree with most of his ideas, I
also believe that hearing negative comments is part of the package. 


Best Wishes, 
Ron