Nutritional Anthropology and Agriculture
This week in Food And Society class, we discussed several articles on the impact of agriculture and the change in society thus far from developing agribusiness. I thought I would share my thoughts based off of our class and those articles ( which I haven’t found the author of as of yet in the handouts we were given).
One statement in the article is that agriculture has been the most important of human revolutions. Do you agree?
I never really thought about it to be honest. I know without thinking that it was crucial, but “most important of all ” is quite the claim. Foraging for food was no longer necessary, neither was planning (and surviving!) animal hunts. However far away you needed to travel via foot was altered to farmers tending to their crops and herds in “one” location, eventually with machines to boot.
Activity patterns changed as well as the food supply, thus states of disease changed. Wild everything ( fruits, animals, plants) were replaced with domestication. Stability, predictability, and regularity of food was beginning to emerge.
This greater density of “secure food” (aside from the occasional famine) per area paralleled the increase in people living in that given area. Thus, cities were born. Social class was ignited. The pace of technology sped up, social ideals begun, and now the basic diet becomes crops full of starch and grains ( corn, wheat, cereal etc.) as opposed to the more well-balanced diet of pre-agricultural, paleolithic humans ( lean protein, fats, fruits, nuts and seeds, some plants).
In fact, the article gives this comparison chart:
Late Paleolithic Diet:
Protein: 34 %
Carbohydrate: 45 %
Fat: 21 %
Fiber:45.7
Cholesterol: 591 mg
Sodium: 690 mg
U.S American Diet 1978:
Protein: 12 %
Carbohydrate: 46 %
Fat: 42 %
Fiber: 19.7
Cholesterol: 600 mg
Sodium: 2300-6900 mg
Did agriculture improve the human diet?
I don’t think so.
Honestly, I avoid grains as much as possible. For one, I am clearly beginning to think that I am allergic to way more foods than I knew (shellfish) such as gluten. I think a good portion of the population is also gluten intolerant or allergic of sorts but that the symptoms are so mild we aren’t aware of it. This would be based off of the “recent” invention of agriculture, and the switch over to grains, not everyone has the digestive system yet to digest gluten properly ( my theory, based on some fact). This is much like how people are lactose intolerant because they lack the lactase enzyme to digest cow’s milk, because cow’s milk is a relatively recent discovery of food ( relative to the earth’s birthday).
Anyhow, I also think that because of the discovery of agriculture we are consuming much less species of fruits and vegetables, much less species and parts of animals as well. Instead, we have found with foods as with everything that people want MORE things ( value) for LESS $$$$$$. A Big Mac for $1, a candy bar for $0.60 cents. The never ending search for spending less money, less time, less energy but getting a greater output is behind agriculture and everything. The USDA has benefits but they are supporting agriculture- the production of more corn based crops, more corn based soda, more products for less money. These products are not only cheap but unhealthy, lacking in nutrients, and result in our nation’s lack of physical activity and energy output.
I hope you found this subject and post as interesting as I do.Would love to hear your thoughts!?
Happy Weekend !
