Agricultural Anthropology
The eating style of the current days is much different from the eating style practiced by the cavemen during the Stone Age period. The cavemen diet consisted of animal they could kill or food they could gather. Increased consumption of processed foods in the modern world has increased risks of diseases. The Paleo diet consists of the foodstuffs that were used by the cavemen and, those who practice Paleo diet claim that the diet has added nutrition value. The ancient people used to eat natural and unprocessed food products. The Paleo diet recommends for food products that may lead to weight loss, lower blood pressure, and the feeding approach has gained popularity since the publication in of the book “The Paleo Diet” in 2010.
Apples are considered as allowed food by the Paleo diet and were one of the earliest fruits to be gathered by human beings. Domestication of the recent apples took place from wild apples initially referred to as crabapples. Wild apples were bitter and hence the reason why they referred to as ‘Crabbe’. Apples domestication took place in the Tien Shan Mountains of Central Asia between 4,000 to 1,0000 years ago and spread outside of Central Asia through trade by steppe society nomads (Duan, 236). Wide range of apple cultivars with different flavors and fruit sizes exists in modern farming. Modern apples are sweet and large in size unlike the wild apple, which was bitter and small in. Also, domesticated apples differ from the wild apples by the fact that domesticated apples cannot self-fertilize independently. Avocado is one of the earliest fruits consumed in Mesoamerica, and it is considered as ‘not allowed’ by the Paleo diet. Avocado was first domesticated back almost 10,000 years in Puebla State of Central Mexico, at the site of Coxcatlan (Fuller, 165). Mexican avocados, which were domesticated in Central Mexico, are adapted to the tropical highlands, with good tolerance to cold and are small fruits that are covered by thin, purple-black skin. Approximated 30 main cultivars of avocados are present in our modern society, which are derived from the Mexican avocado. The Mexican avocado has been in recently turned into a large fruit that is sweet.
Wild edible plants are crucial resources with multipurpose uses, and the crave people used them because of their medicinal and nutrition value. As a result, some people in both developing and developed nations use these ancient fruits and vegetables because of their nutrition value. The Paleo diet considers avocado as not allowed food product because of its side effects on human health. One side effect of avocado is that it can cause skin problems to people who are allergic to avocado hence, the fruits are not allowed as Paleo food. Scientifically, apples contain vitamin C, which is essential for growth and repair for all body cells, and hence, apples are allowed by Paleo diet. Also, avocado is not allowed by the Paleo diet because of its mostly used after processing unlike apple fruit, which is mostly used without undergoing any processing. People in modern society are concerned about the commercial value of crops and sweetness of the plants. Eating diet of our ancestors consisted of even bitter fruits like the wild apple because they were concerned about the nutritional value of the food unlike in modern days when we are concerned only about the taste of the food. Therefore, people in the modern days cannot maintain the eating diet of our ancestors from more than 20,000 years ago.
In conclusion, the Paleo diet consists of foodstuffs that were used by the ancient people in the Stone Age and had high nutritional value as compared to modern-day processed foods. Some people in developing and developed countries are aware of the advantages of consuming unprocessed food since the publication of the hit book ‘The Paleo Diet.’ Our ancestors were mostly concerned with the nutrition value of food, which is contrary to modern-day people who are concerned about how a particular fruit or vegetable is sweet. Therefore, it is impossible for current people to cope with the eating style of their ancestors.