In the November issue of the Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients there is a interesting interview with Loren Cordain. Cordain makes some statements about grains that give an interesting perspective to some of the recent ideological debates on this list. Even though taken out of context Cordain's statements below nonetheless speak clearly for themselves: "Generally, most people do quite well healthwise on 2-3 servings of grain products per day". " Obviously, low to moderate amounts of cereal grains in the diet present little or no health problems to most people." "The evolutionary paradigm should be used as a starting point for designing optimal nutrition guides. Clearly, it is not practical nor economical possible for all of the world's people to eat wild game, fruits and vegetables. However, the macronutrient and trace nutrient levels that typically occur in reconstructed Stone Age diets should be emulated in the design of healthful diets for modern people. Humanity is totally dependent now upon cereal grains for survival. Cereal grains provide 56% of the food energy and 50% of the protein consumed by all of the world's peoples. Without them there would be worldwide starvation of unprecedented proportion. We have wandered down a path of absolute dependence upon cereal grains, a path from which there is no return." Cordain being one of the pioneers of paleo-nutrition, I find his non-dogmatic stance on the consumption of grains very refreshing. The rest of the interview is well worth reading as well and is a testimonial to the increasing exposure diets that emulate those of our early ancestors are getting. Best, Peter