[ExI] The grain controversy (was Paleo/Primal health)

[Stefano Vaj]

On 17 November 2010 20:09, Dave Sill <sparge at gmail.com> wrote:
> "This broadens the timeline for the use of grass seeds by our species,
> and is proof of an expanded and sophisticated diet much earlier than
> we believed," Mercader said. "

"Sophisticated" is a rather biased wording, since most people still
consider paté de foie gras more sophisticated a food than roasted
sorghum.

Having said that, as a transhumanist it would be ridiculous for me to
argue in principle for "natural" solutions as opposed to "artificial"
ones.

Once upon a time, somebody said: "hey, let us make a much more
productive, albeit rather poisonous, use of the available territory,
so that we shall have time and resources and population enough to
establish empires, build a few pyramides, and invent astrononomy,
literature and mathematics". It was a reasonable compromise, as it was
that at the origin of the industrial revolution.

Only, being a transhumanist does not make me think that the pollution
and pathologies undeniably generated by the industrial revolution is
per se a good thing. It has an unfortunate price to be paid to
progress, which has to be remedied as much and as soon as possible.

As far as nutrition is concerned, we can of course make an effort to
re-engineer ourselves to eat only Ice-9. Or better we can adapt our
food to our (current, and future) genetic make. But in the meantime it
seems reasonable to accept evidence that our recently adopted dietary
habits were not commanded by health or longevity or performance
considerations, but rather by *economic* and *cultural* ones.

-- 
Stefano Vaj