We live in interesting times...

I agree that agriculture had its origins in addiction, but don't think it started with fermenting cereal grains to make alcohol. I think it started with people developing an addiction to opioid compounds in cereal grains. They probably learned about fermentation later.

Actually, "most of the research out there" already shows that cooked food consumption is harmful....

Exactly. We don't have a problem so much with inaccurate information as much as we do an unwillingness to accept the truth of much good information out there. Though there is some misinformation out there, to be sure.

I have never done this. If you are seriously considering it, I suggest researching the parasites the species you are considering eating carries, what organs they tend to reside in, and whether they can create pathogenic infestations in people. Although I do eat a lot of animal-derived foods raw, I tend to err on the side of caution. Trichinosis, salmonella, and bad strains of E. coli are no joke.

The info you've provided dovetails pretty well with my own experience. I've gone stretches where I've eaten solely animal foods (not just muscle meat, but also organs and fat deposits from various parts of the body) and didn't have problems with constipation at all. I also noticed that my bowel movements became less frequent, and were smaller (lower mass of poop each time). This does seem to suggest that the meat was used more thoroughly than plants were, though it certainly didn't eliminate bowel movements. Others who contribute to this forum have done this for very long periods, hopefully they'll chime in.

I haven't read that book, but put it on my reading list so thanks for mentioning it. I don't think I buy the idea that fiber is inherently bad. There are many types of fiber in various types and parts of plants, and some of them are more useful than others in our gut. If the author wants to demonize fiber from cereal grains, I'm right behind him. I'm definitely NOT on board with the idea of demonizing fiber more generally. Fiber from the roots, stems, leaves and fruit of plants can benefit the gut in many ways. Many of these types of fiber serve as food for our gut bacteria, so eating a diverse array of plants can promote a diverse gut flora, which yields many health benefits.

I have a friend who works with the Hadza in Tanzania (Africa), and he says they eat upwards of 50g and sometimes as much as 200g of fiber every day. They're quite healthy. None of that fiber comes from cereal grains though. It comes from nuts, berries, and various parts of wild plants, particularly roots and tubers.

Public service announcement: This is the time to buy suet, either from cattle that were recently slaughtered or from other ruminant animals that have not been fed grain. They have been on lush young grass for the last few months, so the fatty acid profile of their lipid tissue is as good as it's going to get (best Omega 3 : Omega 6 ratio you'll see all year). As the summer progresses, grasses will mature and head, making their leaves and stems more fibrous and less nourishing to cattle and other ruminants. These animals will also happen to eat the grass seeds that develop, which will push their fatty acid profiles to favor Omega 6 fatty acids, like grain-fed cattle's lipid tissue does.

I just scored about 8 pounds of luscious suet from a grass fed operation near my home in Burlington, VT. I bought one small pack last week to taste test to make sure it was good and not all dry and crumbly, and it was exquisite. The fat was moist, chewy, and satiating, so I emailed the woman right away and told her to save all that she had from that cattle for me. I picked it up earlier today at the farmers' market for $3 per pound. That's an amazing price when you think about it. Fat contains about 9 kcal per gram, which means that at a price of $3 per pound I'm paying about 7 cents per 100 kcals, or about $1.50 for every 2,000 kcals. That's so cheap! And for such high quality food!

The woman who sold me this fat will be sending another steer to slaughter in early July, and I asked her to save the fat from that animal for me too. Another grass farmer will also be saving me backfat and suet from a couple animals he's sending to slaughter mid-July. The warmer, rainy spring we've had in VT has made this an amazing year for grass farmers, although haying has been tricky because of all the moisture. I'm looking forward to stocking up on amazing quality fat, in addition to the many jars of bear fat I still have from last fall.

Translation: I been coming to this forum for a long time and everything you guys ever posted is composed of the same 26 letters of the alphabet over and over... Nothing new! Unlike me...

LOL, well played!

I'm a big fan of organ meats too. I don't think they make up half of my diet, by calories, but certainly more than 1/4. I've come upon very good sources of chicken and duck eggs, and for the price they're very inexpensive sources of rich calories. The yolks are bright orange. But even as I say that, I laid out some raw lamb heart and goat tongue for breakfast tomorrow.

Wheat itself, if grown on rich and unpolluted soils and is sprouted before consumption, is highly nutritious. Far more nutritious than raw animal fat.

Reading your post, it looks like you and I will have to agree to disagree on a lot of things.

The notion that agriculture as a means of food procurement is the result of ancient people's addiction to opioid peptides found in cereal grains and milk has come up in the forum before. I've done a fair amount of research into this theory and its intricacies, and explored the idea in the most recent episode of my podcast A Worldview Apart. Folks who are interested are welcome to give it a listen, either on my website or on iTunes. Comments and feedback are welcome!

Trichinosis isn't a microbe. It's a roundworm.

Trichinosis is not part of people's gut flora. It's a parasitic worm that forms cysts in muscle tissue. Although I totally buy some parasite therapies, I have never seen anyone claim that trichinosis offered value as a therapeutic tool.