The first time it happened, I spent hours slumming through the message boards of this strange diet subculture, fascinated and repulsed and amused all at once. I'd seen their ilk before, of course, among believers of other pseudo-science claims; but the fact that there was one out there converging on two things so close to my heart -- paleo and veganism...
...well, that just felt like a calling to me. Hallelujah! One day, I'm gonna be at the top o'that list. Praise Raptor Jesus!
Raptor Jesus is probably not a herbivore, and neither was early homo sapiens and our recent hominid ancestors. How do you get your B12? Paleolithic humans didn't supplement, do you?
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ReplyDeleteWelcome, and thank you for commenting on my blog! :)
Please take a moment to read my "Man The Hunter... or Man The Chef?" post, if you have not already done so. I think you'll find it interesting.
As for B-12, that's a non-issue. Nearly all vegan options today are fortified with it. Though I appreciate your concern. ;)
I know that sounded rude, sorry if it did. I am more talking about how you think paleolithic humans could have been vegan. Or am I just confused as to what you believe?
ReplyDeleteDo you think a paleolithic human could have been in good health on a vegan diet, if they chose that during that time period?
I don't believe Paleolithic humans were vegans. Veganism is a modern ethical choice.
ReplyDeleteBut, they were not obligate meat-eaters, either. Like most mammals, hominids are generalists, which means they can thrive on just about any food that's not poisonous.
Whether they could have been in good health on a vegan diet depends entirely on the local ecology. For the most part, they were probably opportunistic feeders, though I suppose it's conceivable there may have been vegetarian "cavemen" in ecologies where that was possible. We'll never know for sure.
But like I said, veganism is a modern ethical philosophy. Vegetarianism is a bit older, but largely a philosophical commitment. Our biology dictates neither veganism nor carnivory.
For clarification, my blog is called what it is because in addition to being a vegan, I'm also a paleontologist(-in-training). When I chose the name, I had no idea about the existence of the "paleo-diet" movement.