History of change in Diet Pattern

History of change in Diet Pattern since ancient days…in Short

History

Vegetarian Naturalism has consistently been of the view that man's 'original diet' was plant-based. Palaeoanthropologists tell us that man embarked upon his evolutionary journey as an insectivorous primate over sixty million years ago. A few million years down the line and he had graduated to a largely herbivorous-cum-frugivorous (fruit-based) diet.

Homo erectus (the erect man) had to adapt himself to the onset of the glacial age and the consequent thinning of the Savannah 9,00,000 years ago by alternating between animal and plant foods. For Homo erectus to Cro-Magnon man, consuming animals became a way of coping with the vagaries of the earth's environment that was constantly in flux.

During the Ice Ages, the last of which was from 25,000 to 15,000 BC, vegetation all but disappeared, forcing man to hunt large mammals like mammoths, bison and caribou to survive. He was also a nomad, constantly moving in pursuit of animal herds. The Agricultural Revolution in the Neolithic Age (circa 10,000 BC) not only brought about a settled lifestyle but also made cereals and cultivable vegetation the main source of nourishment. Many animals, now domesticated, had become valuable for activities other than consumption. The plant vs. animal ratio in man's food reached a high of 90:10 at this time.

As is obvious from the evidence of evolution, adaptability to natural circumstances has been the hallmark of humankind. It has always been a matter of survival, and not that of culinary taste, that drove animalistic man to an 'omnivorous' diet. Plant-based foods have always been his first and instinctive preference. The proof for this is inbuilt in our bodies in the form of our quasi-herbivoric digestive system.

Table showing change in food habits -

	over sixty million years ago	insectivorous primate
	A few million years down the line	herbivorous-cum-frugivorous (fruit-based) diet
Homo erectus (the erect man)	9,00,000 years ago	alternating between animal and plant foods
Homo erectus to Cro-Magnon man		consuming animals became a way of coping with the vagaries of the earth's environment
During the Ice Ages	25,000 to 15,000 BC	vegetation all but disappeared, forcing man to hunt large mammals like mammoths, bison and caribou to survive
Agricultural Revolution in the Neolithic Age	10,000 BC	The plant vs. animal ratio in man's food reached a high of 90:10