THE NEW ERA
Beyond Domestication
Location
USA
Age
2024 CE
Started By
Primeval Foods
A BIT ABOUT FOOD
The Earth experienced significant warming and drying a few million years ago. Before this climate change, early human ancestors, known as hominins, primarily survived by consuming fruits, leaves, seeds, flowers, bark, and tubers. As the temperature increased, forests decreased, and grasslands flourished. As a result, early humans were forced to find alternative energy sources as green plants became scarce.
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Grassland savannas in Africa supported increasing numbers of grazing herbivores, and archaeologists have found large herbivore bones from this period with cut marks from primeval stone tools. These ancient hominins may not have been skilled hunters yet, but they likely scavenged meat from the carcasses of fallen animals.
Some scientists believe that consuming meat plays a significant role in human evolution. When humans started incorporating meat into their diet, there was less need for a sizeable digestive tract capable of processing large amounts of plant matter. As a result, the human gut gradually shrank over hundreds of thousands of years, which allowed for the allocation of additional energy toward the brain, rapidly increased in size.
The ability to control fire in early humans marked a significant milestone in the technological development of human society. Cooking meat made it easier to digest and allowed humans to efficiently extract more calories to fuel the growth of their brains.
Over time, people in Mesopotamia began domesticating animals for meat, milk, and hides. The Neolithic Revolution led to a decrease in the variety of available foods and a decline in the nutritional quality of the human diet compared to what was obtained from foraging.
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Even though humans do not necessarily require meat in their diet, it remains a popular food choice. However, a diet high in meat has been linked to various health problems such as heart disease, diabetes, and certain cancers - conditions our early ancestors did not have to worry about due to their shorter lifespans and lack of chronic disease.
For the first time in history, we have the opportunity to explore and enjoy the most delicious, healthy, and nutritious foods using cultivated meat without the limitations and costs associated with traditional animal agriculture.
