On Tue, 22 Sep 1998 09:59:40 -0400, Todd Moody <[log in to unmask]> wrote: >I think the other part of Ray's answer is that there are few, if >any, places in the world where the vegetation could keep a >vegetarian alive *year-round*. Oh, yes. But it is a rather small the place on the earth where our genes have formed. (and spread therefrom as the successfull Cro Magnon human). And there - in Africa - was a tropical rainforest for many millions of years, our anchestors were fruitarians (with little insects), and vegetarian nutrition *is* possible there year-round, as gorillas show. What happened later in the galery-woods and savanne (the 2 most recent million years' area) F I think we should look a little better at some expert data, maybe at some present non-agricultural groups which live at that place, before we decide or assume what our anchestors might have done. >If this is correct, it entails >that actual paleolithic people were *never* vegetarians. And if >that is true, the vegetarianism would have to be seens as a >dietary innovation. Yes, this might also be the case (especially when kicking out the last few percent of animals that fruitarians eat). Since vegetarianism involves only *leaving away* some certain foods, i can't see a problem with it. Or someone has to show why exactely this or that components of meat *have* to be included. Certainly most of us leave out mgongo nuts, hippos, worms and bugs (i mean african species resp insects and worms) in the diet although they have been in the food a really long time. Jus t annother leaving out of food items. Who can say that the worms and bugs weren't the most important animals? >Todd Moody Amadeus Schmidt